u/First_Avocado_805

I brought a small claim case in Washington against my former landlord, regarding a security deposit withholding without itemized receipt/invoice. We had just gone to trial. I won the case, but the judgment amount is significantly lower than what I had expected based on the law.

I had the house cleaned thoroughly when I moved out. My landlord withheld a significant amount of money from my security deposit, stated that it was for cleaning, without providing any receipts or invoices to show such cleaning happened. In my view, this is a direct violation of RCW 59.18.280 ("the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit, and any documentation required by (b)"). Therefore, the landlord would be "liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit."

Additionally, through the entire legal proceeding process, the landlord stated that the cleaning was done through third-party, and that the cleaning cost was determined by third-party invoices. Yet the landlord never showed any such invoices. Several other pieces of evidence strongly suggest that the landlord fabricated the cleaning charge and intentionally refused to provide documentation. Therefore, per RCW 59.18.280 ("The court may in its discretion award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement, documentation, or refund"), I asked for twice the deposit as damages.

The judge completely ignored the fact that the landlord failed to follow the legal documentation requirement, and without looking at the photographic evidence of the cleaned home taken when I moved out, decided that it would be fair to award me half the cleaning cost that the landlord had withheld from my security deposit, stating that the home needed to be cleaned. He ignored the claim of intentional refusal and said that he didn't award double damages because he believed the landlord acted in good faith.

Should I file an appeal to the Superior Court?

[US-WA] I brought a small claim case in Washington against my former landlord, regarding a security deposit withholding without itemized receipt/invoice. We had just gone to trial. I won the case, but the judgment amount is significantly lower than what I had expected based on the law.

I had the house cleaned thoroughly when I moved out. My landlord withheld a significant amount of money from my security deposit, stated that it was for cleaning, without providing any receipts or invoices to show such cleaning happened. In my view, this is a direct violation of RCW 59.18.280 ("the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit, and any documentation required by (b)"). Therefore, the landlord would be "liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit."

Additionally, through the entire legal proceeding process, the landlord stated that the cleaning was done through third-party, and that the cleaning cost was determined by third-party invoices. Yet the landlord never showed any such invoices. Several other pieces of evidence strongly suggest that the landlord fabricated the cleaning charge and intentionally refused to provide documentation. Therefore, per RCW 59.18.280 ("The court may in its discretion award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement, documentation, or refund"), I asked for twice the deposit as damages.

The judge completely ignored the fact that the landlord failed to follow the legal documentation requirement, and without looking at the photographic evidence of the cleaned home taken when I moved out, decided that it would be fair to award me half the cleaning cost that the landlord had withheld from my security deposit, stating that the home needed to be cleaned. He ignored the claim of intentional refusal and said that he didn't award double damages because he believed the landlord acted in good faith.

Should I file an appeal to the Superior Court?