Landlord Sent Return Deposit Check After I Began A Small Claims Suit, What Now?

Location: Logan, Utah

The suit itself is being filed in Logan, Utah, as that's where the property, and the landlord office is, but I am currently living in Taylorsville, Utah, if that changes anything

To sum things up, my lease ended on July 31st of 2026, I vacated the property on July 29th.

August 31st came and went, and on September 8th, I sent a legal notice to return the deposit. I received no response, after almost 2 full weeks, and filed a small claims suit against the property management company on September 22nd.

They were served on October 7th by county sheriffs, and on October 16th, I received a check in the mail from the property management for $500, as there is a clause within our lease that only 50% of the deposit (normally $1000) will be returned, along with a letter that said there were no deductions made, and if there were any discrepancies, to write a written letter to property management.

I have multiple questions here, for one, there is indeed a discrepancy, as the deposit we paid was $2000 (as this was my first ever apartment), so we should have been sent a check for $1000. Should I write to them letting them know? Or should I proceed with small claims?

Something else that's important, when we initially signed the lease one of the employees made a mistake and wrote that our deposit was $1000, he said he would correct it and send us the corrected version afterwards, but we never received it nor do I believe it was corrected. I do however have a screenshot from their property management app that says our deposit was 2k, along with a bank statement proving the same thing.

Am I able to fight this in small claims as well?

My other question is that 50% clause, the letter and check are dated that they were sent on August 20th, but the envelope itself has a stamped date of October 14th, well past their 30 day requirement to return the deposit. Will that clause hold up in court? I'm wondering since Utah small claims law states that their right to withhold any of the deposit is forfeit if they fail to respond to my notice to return deposit.

What are my options here? Ideally I'd like to proceed with small claims, as I've already paid all the fees to file, I don't exactly have money for an attorney or am I sure if I can even talk to one with small claims

Thank you all, this has honestly been very stressful as I am a very young college student, I appreciate any feedback or input