Small Claims to Civil Court

What is the name of your state? Michigan
A short while ago I filed a small claims suit against a large company. They had contracted out a company to do some work in our area. And while they were on our property (without our permission) they damaged our garage roof. We decided to file suit when our garage started leaking. When I filed to go to small claims, I was told that they would probably file to move it to Civil Court because they would have attorneys representing them. They have filed to move to civil and we have a date set.
We recently received some paperwork that is confusing to me. It was followed an "Answer to Defenses" is in a section titled "Affirmative Defenses". The last paragraph states "That Defendant respectfully reserves the right to amend and supplement these Affirmative Defenses at such time as further facts, upon which Plaintiff's cause of action is based, become known through discovery or otherwise. WHEREFORE, Defendant prays that this suit be dismissed as to it, with prejudice and attorneys' fees to this Defendant most unjustly sustained."
Does this mean that the other company wants us to pay for their legal fees? I am totally confused by the language.
Thank you.

That is standard boiler plate legal ease and they can also ask for cherry pie at every hearing too .... ignore it and proceed on.

If the $$ is substantial you should at least consult with an attorney. If it is not too much then just do it yourself. Have all of your facts straight and any documents you can find well organized. When the time comes just tell your side of the case. Be sure to not miss deadlines and to have all the proper filings. They will use that against you if they can. You should not rely on this forum for advice beyond this either. The courts are complicated but jusat try to keep it as simple as possible.

They will try to intimidate you but just ignore that. In most all civil actions each party pays their own legal fees.