Security Deposits: Landkord Kept Entire Deposit After Refusing Walkthrough

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California

I rented a house for 6 years in Ventura County (no housing ordinances there) for $1900 a month, never once ever late or short on payment. *It was built in 1961 and had never been upgraded except for some shoddy work to bathroom floors. *House had many problems upon move in and I have all of the pictures and documentation but the landlord was too lazy to do a proper walk through and acknowledge them but at least I did and mailed it to him at that time. He told us to fix things that came up including incomplete rain gutters, sprinkler piping problems, plumbing problems (because he knew my husband had been a plumber), and to wipe any mold that appears in bathrooms. He had a sticker on the kitchen cabinet that was for a plumber but told us to try to fix it first (hint hint). The next door neighbor was his friend and "property manager". Everything we had to do to maintain the home was told to him and he even collaborated often in fixing issues. He kept the landlord informed. The landlord never complained about anything and neither did we. *In July 2011 we gave proper notice and paid our last months rent in full on time as usual. *We also reminded the landlord that we had a $3000 deposit that we will be expecting returned and necessary for our major out of state move. *He refused a walk through stating he had friends in town, and he lived 30 min away. He had 2 weeks notice of options for walk through dates. We delayed hitting the road for an extra day just to make the house sparkle even more than it needed to be. There was absolutely no damage to the home, ONLY normal wear and tear by every definition according to California Tenant law. This thief decided to send us an "itemization" listing everything that a landlord is NOT allowed to charge a tenant for and only returned half our deposit! *We are devastated. There are so many details to this that it would take all day to list them here. The landlord knew we were leaving the state and that it would pose a hardship to fly back to take him to court. I sent a complete, commentated list, validly disputing EVERY single item on his itemization and requiring a response. I did not receive any response and sent another request a month later followed by an attorney sending a letter. I received a response from an attorney he hired who then accused me of harassment! *I cannot afford plane tickets to go back and sue him. I have tried to get a loan to do this and have no available credit due to our move so I cannot. This landlord has devastated us. We need to find a way to take him to court and I am confident that any judge would award us the bad faith penalty. *The next door neighbor friend/property manager passed away from cancer 2 weeks before we moved. He was only in his 50's.*
Remember the reference I made to mold? Well, I have since discovered that it was the cause of severe neurological reactions my son had during the time we lived there including migraines and seizures. He did not have them prior to moving in and once we moved out, all of his symptoms went away. *I have only been able to find one doctor who knows anything about the connection but my son would have to be still exposed to that house to prove it with test results. We can't do that to him so I can't sue him for the damage the landlord caused to my son for the time he did. *He even listed new black mold wipe-up as a deduction from our deposit!!! *I have yet to find an attorney who will get involved with this issue.*
*In his letter he attached with his itemization, he claimed that he had another reason to back up his decision to keep our money with something stated in the*lease (which was only one year and he never followed through with a new one, we didn't because we were afraid of rent going up even more). He wrote that he only agreed to rent to 2 adults and 2 kids and that we violated that agreement by having a baby in 2009 and didn't tell him either. The neighbor was so happy when our baby daughter was born and also told the landlord in the course of normal conversation and the landlord HAD NO ISSUE with it and should not have anyway. By law he cannot discriminate on that basis. The landlord also visited us on one occasion and expressed no surprise or made any concern about it. I am not sure what I can do in court or with an agency about this.*
I understand I have 2 years to file small claims and it's already been almost one year. Is there some other way I can do this without having to go there which is so cost prohibitive? *Also, how can I word my complaint to ensure being awarded the bad faith penalty if I do get the chance? And can you ask for the bad faith penalty in your initial complaint or do you have to wait for the judge to add it on? *Also, what else can I have this ridiculously lazy homeowner *penalized for? *Is there anything i can do in court about the seizure-causing black mold or the discriminatory comment he put in writing? Should I instead think of filing a civil motion such as an interpleading? FYI, he owns a KFC and one other house. *I'm at such a loss at this point. *Any help would be so appreciated.*