You should let your friend come here to tell the story himself. If your friend was owed $40,000, why did he go to small claim? Which small claim court did he go to? He can only appeal to the superior court where the small claim court is located. What do you mean he appealed to both orange county court and San Francisco county court?
Most importantly, only defendant can appeal a small claim decision. A plaintiff can appeal only if there were counterclaims, which your friend was acting like a defendant. This means, the salary your friend was owed is not an appealable issue because it is his own claim.
