Port Hueneme City Council member Laura Hernandez’s defamation lawsuit against the city’s chief of police won't proceed in small claims court, but that doesn't mean their legal dispute is over.

Hernandez sued Police Chief Michael Federico last month, accusing him of spreading false personal and professional accusations about her that other people then repeated before the Port Hueneme City Council. She was seeking $12,500, which is the limit for a small claims lawsuit.

The trial was scheduled for Aug. 21, and Hernandez and Federico both appeared in the morning in a small claims courtroom at the county's juvenile justice courthouse in Oxnard.

But at the outset of that hearing, Court Commissioner Courtney Lewis, who hears small claims cases, ruled to dismiss the case from small claims court. Hernandez can re-file the complaint in Ventura County Superior Court, but she said after the hearing that she hasn't decided yet whether she will do that.

In addition to the cap on damages, small claims court is different in a few ways. The parties are not represented by lawyers during a small claims trial, though Federico did have an attorney with him on Aug. 21 and Hernandez says she has consulted one on the case.

Small claims trials don't have juries, and the process is designed to deal with simpler cases and to move faster.

Because Hernandez's case is likely to involve claims that go beyond money — such as a court order to stop Frederico from making any statements found to be...

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