> I wasn’t trying to crap on OP. Fair, I did not imply that you are, just being genuinely curious. > In California small claims court, they typically want you

> I wasn’t trying to crap on OP. Fair, I did not imply that you are, just being genuinely curious. > In California small claims court, they typically want you to try and make a demand. But you don’t have to make a demand in all instances to sue. OP made a blanket statement that you have to make a demand or you can’t sue. That’s not correct under CA law. I don't understand this part, the court page says that you "must" do it. Is there a CA law that prohibits CA court from requiring this? My vague understanding is that many things in judicial system are "customary" or administratively driven. Maybe this is the case, while not required by CA law, but required by courts as an optimization technique. > And we will set aside a preemption analysis because the TCPA is a federal law for another day. Ah, this is actually interesting. So the TCPA is a federal law and he used it as a basis for his lawsuit in the CA court. How does it work? Can you bring a lawsuit based on federal law in a state law? I just pulled TCPA [1] and in the PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION section it clearly mentions a state court: A person or entity may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State, bring in an appropriate court of that State If a federal law explicitly allows state courts, does a state court have to listen such cases unless there is a state law that prevents it? [1] https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tcpa-rules.pdf https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tcpa-rules.pdf