In Perez v. City of San Bruno (1980) 27 Cal.3d 875, 885, the plaintiff brought an action against the City of San Bruno for damages associated with the city's discontinuation of her water service. The city claimed the action was barred by collateral estoppel since the city had previously brought two small claims actions against Perez and had obtained two judgments against her, one of which was affirmed on Perez's appeal to the superior court. (Perez, supra, 27 Cal.3d at pp. 881-882.) The Perez court concluded, "Certain issues sought to be raised in the instant proceeding--namely those relating to the defendant city's power to require all residents to subscribe to and make payments assessed by its garbage disposal service whether or not they make actual use of that service--must be deemed presently foreclosed to Perez." (Perez, supra, 27 Cal.3d at p. 883.) In support of its conclusion, the Perez court noted, "Included in the record before us is the judgment and memorandum of decision of the small claims court in this action; the court therein expressly addresses the issues here in question ... ." (Ibid.) The Perez court applied the Sanderson court's observation that in proceedings where "issues can be framed and decided ... they may be given conclusive effect in a subsequent suit based on a different cause of action." (Perez, at p. 884, quoting Sanderson, supra, 17 Cal.2d at p. 575.) The Perez court also distinguished Sanderson by noting that as the losing defendant in the small claims proceeding, Perez had exercised her right to appeal the small claims judgment to the superior court. Once in superior court, Perez received all of the formalities of a normal trial. The Perez court reasoned, "In view of these considerations, we think it must be concluded that when a losing defendant in a small claims action invokes his right of appeal to the superior court, and when that court ... conducts a trial de novo and enters judgment against such appealing defendant, the considerations set forth in our Sanderson opinion are not applicable." (Perez, supra, 27 Cal.3d at p. 885.)