Car Dealership

If i won my original small claims suit,(that i filed?) whats gonna happen at the appeal? i filed a small claims suit against a small car dealership, and i won my case. now on the day that i went to collect my money, i was told that they were appealing the judgement, and now this would be taken to civil court. i do not think that they have contacted a lawyer (but alas i am not sure .) what is going to happen at the appeal? do i need a lawyer? what do i need to do now? this is happening in the state of california. (la, to be exact!) when we go before the judge, will the judge hear the facts, and rule, or will i need to get myself a lawyer? to help defend myself, or will the judge take into account that i have already won the original suit?

The answers you have gotten would be correct if applied to most appeals in most states, but are unfortunately incorrect as regards a small claims appeal in michigan. unlike most appeals, in which a reviewing court examines the record for error, a small claims appeal in michigan is a "trial de novo" before a different judge. in other words, you have to go through the whole case again. the only difference is that you can have a lawyer to represent you, and if you prevail the other party will have to pay your costs. whether it makes sense to hire a lawyer depends upon the amount of money in issue and the strength of your case.you can see this site for general information about michigan small claims procedure:http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/scbasics.htmhowever, since you are in l.a. county, you have the benefit of the small claims advisor. i would certainly recommend talking to one. see this site:http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/smallclaims/main.htm