The DA’s office is a resource, but it is very busy (L.A. has more bad checks per capita than anywhere else in the country). It will send out a demand letter, request payment of the check, payment of your costs and offer a “bad check writer’s school – like traffic school for a traffic ticket – to clear their records, but it is highly unlikely that there would be a prosecution for a “stop pay” check that would fall within the Small Claims limits and the LL doesn’t have to go to the class.
You, on the other hand, potentially have a new SC claim against the LL for the amount of the check plus statutory damages of 3 times the face amount, up to $1,500. It will require the cost of a certified letter, if you want to try. A bounced check is a “per se” violation, but a “stop pay” falls into a special category.
See Civil Code sect. 1719, with particular attention to 1719(c) and (d) for the form and mailing and decide:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=civ&group=01001-02000&file=1708-1725
If you send the check to the DA (they’ll want the original), make a copy. That gives you the LL’s bank data. Also note that you could do the certified mailing, wait 30 days and see if you get paid. The court will want the original check to “cancel it by judgment”, if you go the civil route and then file a new case, and you won’t have it, if you’ve sent it to the DA.
Follow CourtClerk’s instructions, if you filed a Satisfaction, and don’t accept partial payments. They will defeat your rights in court or with the DA