Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
security deposit after settlement agrement
Plaintiff, a commercial property manager, filed a unlawful detainer against defendants, the lessee, et al, filed a counter suit for excessive cam fees, accounting irregularities and unconscionable lease provisions per ca civil code section 1770 a.17. An offer to compromise and settle all claims between landlord and tenant was reached minutes before trial. The settlement agreement, signed by all parties was as follows: Defenant agreed to a stipulation for entry of judgement in favor of plantiff in the amount of $82,000.00 inclusive of past due rent, unpaid cam fees, damages and attorney fees. Plantiff's right to possession upon defendants vacating and returning real property within the next 10 days with a full termination of lease. We also agreed to mutually release each other of current claims in dispute & waive our rights to seek any future claims against each other. A security deposit of $12,000 held by landlord was never credited towards the judgement. The landlord claims he is with holding the entire deposit for damages to the property.Can he keep it if we mutually agreed to no other claims?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: security deposit after settlement agrement
You should ask your own attorney, who was there. The deposit should have been addressed in the settlement. If not, courts will look to the intent of the parties, first and foremost as expressed in the written agreement. Only if that agreement is ambiguous will a court normally consider other evidence of the meaning of the agreement.
A settlement does not include claims which the parties did not know about at the time of settlement. If you had already moved out and the landlord had conducted an inspection, the claims for damage would be known. If not, they might not be. The parties can waive this rule if they do so explicitly in the settlement agreement. (For example: "This settlement includes all claims, known and unknown, and the parties waive the benefit of Civil Code �1542.")
Since you said you only waived "current claims" and did not move out before the settlement, it is likely that the landlord did not waive unknown damage. Ask him for an accounting of the charges and pictures, bills or other proof of what needed to be done.
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