Giants Pitcher Awarded $100K in Landlord-Tenant Dispute

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum and his former San Francisco, Calif., landlord have agreed to a $100,000 judgment in Lincecum’s favor, ending a long legal dispute that began with allegations that he left a townhouse he rented during the 2010 season a wreck.

The Beverly Hills Sports Council, which represents Lincecum, released a statement Thursday announcing the settlement.

Mindy Freile filed a lawsuit in October 2011 seeking $350,000 in damages against Lincecum. She claimed the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion stole and destroyed items in the townhouse he rented in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Lincecum countersued, saying the allegations were false and Freile violated a California law that required her to account for the whereabouts of his security deposit.

Lincecum’s attorney, Peter M. Bransten, said in a statement that “it’s clear from the landlord’s agreement that a judgment be entered in Mr. Lincecum’s favor that her claim to have sustained hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages was baseless. Regardless of the amount in issue, Mr. Lincecum will aggressively defend himself against all meritless claims.”

Lincecum added: “I am pleased with the result and believe that this was an attempt from the very beginning on the landlord’s part to take advantage of my public profile for financial gain. She kept the balance of my security deposit while making unsubstantiated claims of exaggerated damage. While litigation is something you always want to avoid, I will always defend myself against frivolous lawsuits.”

A message left Friday at the office of Freile’s attorney, Jonathan Bornstein, was not immediately returned.