I recently won a suit against my landlord for holding too much of my deposit and for not returning anything within the 21 day deadline. He is now appealing the decision, does he have any chance of winning?

In most jurisdictions, if a small claims judgment is appealed, it gets pushed up to circuit court and you have to be represented by an attorney.

This may not be true everywhere, but has been my experience.

It is a commonly used tactic if the defendant has money, they can pay the fee, usually about $100 for the appeal, and now the plaintiff has to have an attorney to continue.

I don't think it is fair, or right, but that is how it works, at least in the mid-west of USA.

I recently won a suit against my landlord for holding too much of my deposit and for not returning anything within the 21 day deadline. He is now appealing the decision, does he have any chance of winning??


Without knowing the reason for the appeal and the facts absolutely no one has any idea if he'll win -

Pro & Judy are right; you haven't included enough details for anyone to give you a proper answer.

Did your landlord provide you with an itemized statement as to why he kept your deposit, either in full or partially, within 21 days? Were you awarded your entire deposit and if not, what reasons did the judge provide for not ordering that it be returned in full?