Does a defendant who has filed a cross-complaint in small claims court have the right to appeal from the judgment?

[22 Cal.App.4th 1592] In Davis v. Superior Court, supra, 102 Cal.App.3d 164, 170, 162 Cal.Rptr. 167, the appellate court held that, although a small claims defendant who has filed a cross-complaint may appeal an adverse judgment on the plaintiff's claim, the superior court lacks jurisdiction to consider the defendant's appeal from the judgment on the cross-complaint. "[A] defendant presenting a cross-complaint in small claims court is a voluntary claimant seeking to have his claim adjudicated in the informal setting of the small claims court. As a voluntary claimant he, like the plaintiff, gives up his right to appeal on the cross-complaint." (Ibid.) The court relied on the plain language of former section 117.8, subdivision (a), which provided in pertinent part, "if the defendant seeks any affirmative relief by way of a claim in the small claims court, he shall not have the right to appeal from the judgment on the claim." (Stats.1976, ch. 1289, 2, p. 5769.)