so, again: should i have taken the pay out? if i leave, i just lost hundreds of dollars i could have taken, right?

no.

if i had signed an agreement to move out, then i'd have to move out - i'd have no options to appeal. maybe i'd find something better. maybe i wouldn't.

and, i did look - i couldn't find anything better.

this particular unit came up the same day as the trial. i couldn't have organized this.

if i had organized a move-in before hand, would it have made sense to take the cash? sure. but, i didn't know that, then. i could have agreed to move and then ended up with nowhere to go. that's not rational self-interest, it's risk - and i'm exceedingly risk averse.

i would argue that it's far more rational to lose the pay out than to take a risk of ending up optionless. i guess you could have that argument. but, you'd be warping logic around dramatically to do it.

on top of that, you have to remember that i still think they're acting in bad faith and i'm still intending to sue when i figure it out. so, i have a plan to get those funds, in the end.

you can argue i got unlucky. i might even agree with you. but, i made the rational choice in the context of maximizing self-interest.