small claims action, plaintiff seeks to recover the principal sum of $9,210.62, alleging
that defendants failed to return a security deposit and prepaid rent, totaling $4,834.52,
and also that his property was damaged by airborne mold that infiltrated his possessions
after the fire.
At a nonjury trial, it was undisputed that, before the fire, plaintiff had failed to
comply with the term of his lease requiring him to obtain renter's insurance. It was also
undisputed that plaintiff had not caused the fire, but that, immediately following the fire,
he had been forced to [*2]vacate the apartment because
water used to fight the fire had infiltrated his apartment and rendered it uninhabitable.
Several months after the fire, plaintiff and Garth, together with others, reached a
settlement agreement (the Agreement). The Agreement defined the "Loss" as the October
15, 2018 fire. Under its terms, plaintiff chose a company which remediated the mold
condition in the apartment and either cleaned or discarded plaintiff's property on site. In
the Agreement, plaintiff released enumerated entities, including Garth and Samson, from
liability for "any and all claims, . . . other than the amounts owed to Tenants by the
Shareholder [Garth] for prepaid rent credits and security deposit upon vacating the
Premises, inclusive of any and all claims that Tenant had and/or may have in the
future against all Parties, . . . including all claims . . . arising in conjunction with the
Loss, Personalty and Premises . . ." (underscoring in original). Although there were
apparently discrepancies in copies of the Agreement that were shown to the court, and
plaintiff's and Garth's signatures appeared on separate pages, plaintiff confirmed that the