One day before he was to appear in court to argue several motions, a law student and fair housing advocate reached a tentative settlement with the rent-to-own housing company that sued him over demands for repairs to the home he agreed to purchase.   

Matthew Cardinale, who also publishes the online Atlanta Progressive News website, was sued by San Francisco-based Divvy Homes in April after the company accused Cardinale of seeking thousands of dollars in repairs to the northwest Atlanta home he contracted to purchase. Divvy Homes contended among other things that Cardinale “appears to have entered into the lease agreement for purposes of his own agenda and not in a good faith effort to pursue home ownership” with Divvy.