residential-lease tenant
Can I get compensation for time spent on case if I win as a defendant
<p>I had to reimburse a housemate's security deposit, after he recently moved out of the house, as I had paid the deposit of the entire house and still living in the house. He is disputing the cleaning and repair charges deducted from his deposit. In his email he suggested taking this to court if I disagree with his request for a full refund. I feel I have no need to mutually agree to go to court. I believe I have enough proof to prove the charges are valid.
If he decides to sue me , mostly in small claims court, is it possible for me to ask for compensation for time lost in fighting this case such as time taken off from work or any other kind of compensation. Perhaps through a defendant's claim? Does my winning or losing as a defendant to his case affect if I can claim or win any compensation</p>
<p>I or the rented property in question is in SF Bay Area (CA)</p>

<p>Typically these cannot be claimed as damages in small claims court. There is no specific information in the CA <a href="https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-smallclaims.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">small claims court information</a> that I can find, but as a typical example they cannot be recovered.</p>
<p>They can be recovered via personal injury cases (to the extent that the injury caused the lost wages, not the preparation for the case), but I'm not sure that type of recovery would fall under a small claims case.</p>
