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

I had a question that I hope this forum can assist me with. Here is the situation:

One day I got a call a tenant about an incident that occurred in the condo that I was renting out to the tenant. The tenant claims there was a problem with the washing machine that caused the water to flood the floor which damaged the condo below. Apparently the tenant was busy and didn't see the water. The water was not taken cared of immediately. As a result, I had to pay for damages as the homeowner's insurance doesn't cover this. The tenant was supposed to have renter's insurance but didn't do it until after the fact. The damages was more than the security deposit. I only kept the security deposit. I had home inspection prior to the tenant moving in and after the tenant moved out, I got a professional home inspection and they found several other things that was damaged as well. My question is what should I do to prepare myself for small claims court as the tenant is claiming that it is my fault.