A tenant in New York moved out of an apartment, which he was renting month-to-month. He marked his final check "Payment in Full". Five months later he was served with a lawsuit for $4,000 in repairs to the apartment, and for several months of rent while the repairs took place. The landlord alleges that the apartment was severely damaged and that it could not be occupied during the repairs. Can the tenant avoid paying for the damage based on marking the check "paid in full", or because the landlord didn't provide him with any notice of the damages before performing the repairs?

