First of all you have a great site. I love to see places like this that empower the 'little guy'.

Short version of question:
My former landlord owes me ~$400 and my roommate and I have decided to take him to small claims court. In general, can one of us serve as the plantiff, or do we need to both be listed as the plantiff and go to court? We live in Michigan if it makes a difference.

Brief Background:
The landlord (a corporation) withheld ~$200 of our deposit, we sent a letter disagreeing with the charges, the landlord failed to respond or file suit with district court within 45 days of when we vacated the property. By Michigan law, they no longer can claim any part of the deposit and we are entitled to twice the amount withheld, but we need to take them to small claims or district court first. My roommate just started a new job ~150 miles away & would really rather not take a day off to go to court. I would like to handle the whole matter myself.

I suggest getting a power of attorney from the roommate. However, do you really want to sue? If the $200 deduction was explained and it is reasonable, it may be time to move on as you could go to court and lose as it may not be as easy as you think then you owe the landlord damages. You are little, and they are a corporation who can take you for attorney fees that may be more than the damages you are trying to get. If you can get a default judgment, that is one thing, but I suggest that you consult an attorney. You may be looking at the letter of the law, but I am not sure you have a practical approach here that is going to lead to success in the real world.

Thanks for the advice, but I felt both lucky and pissed off enough to file a lawsuit to see what would happen.

The landlord (actually a representative from their company) settled out of court for the full amount I asked for. :D

Maybe I got lucky, but I think I had a REALLY good case. Michigan landlord-tenent law favors the tenent in a big way.