[recycled sixtie]

Alex in our condo building we have a claim against a supplier of services coming up in small claims court. The amount is small namely $5500. Our volunteer tech guy has done a lot of work in substantiating the claim on the basis that the supplier did not do the work that was supposed to be done. As mentioned above $20k is likely above small claims court limit. To me it is really a wash whether we drop the lawsuit or carry on. There are court costs etc win or lose. If the supplier does not show up then we win but not necessarily collect!.

In your case your legal costs can quickly accelerate and it does not sound like a black and white case.

Proceed with caution. Sometimes a letter from the lawyer saying you would like to settle before any legal action is taken might be less stressful and cheaper in the long run.
I am sure there are lawyers here that could diagnose your situation and forecast a possible outcome. If it was me I would take some deep breaths and examine all courses of action. Sometimes the aggressive action may not be the answer.
Cheers, Guy