From what you have written, it seems that the reason why the judge dismissed your second lawsuit was because you filed suit initially against your former tenants and settled the dispute where the tenants eventually ended up moving out of the rental.Under the law, if there was a claim that was pending (but not mentioned in the initial lawsuit) it should have been mentioned in the beginning and have been part of the settlement.Under the laws of all states in this country, if one has a claim against a person that could have been asserted in a pending lawsuit but fails to do so, the claim is considered waived in that it should have been brought at that time. I sense that is what the judge did when he dismissed your second lawsuit when he said that you should have amended the first one.