I've never tried in other states. But on an absolute scale I found it ridiculous how many gotchas they put in place to keep you out of court. I remember sitting there watching so many people get told by the judge "you forgot to file proof of service" or whatever and get their case thrown out. And it takes a whole day. How many tenants can easily get a day off?

If I were a landlord I'd keep every deposit no matter what.

By gotchas do you mean folks who misfile their paperwork, or that there’s actually hidden paperwork brought out after a proper filing?

"misfile" yes. But it's amazing how easy it is to do that. This isn't like the DMV or a passport where most people can get it right after a couple tries. You really need to be on top of your shit to win in small claims court.