Tenant uses ChatGPT to uncover crucial evidence and win legal battle against greedy landlord

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly shaped our world, seamlessly integrating into various industries, from healthcare to entertainment. From predicting trends to automating tasks and answering questions, AI does it all—name it, and it's already on the job! ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, quickly becoming everyone's go-to AI for conversations, solving problems and creativity. But what if we told you ChatGPT actually helped someone win a legal case against his landlord? A 23-year-old man named Chris Maloney—who goes by u/monkeyincidentof93 on Reddit—shared how AI helped him identify a major violation in his lease agreement with his greedy landlord.

Maloney revealed that his former landlord deducted over $600 from his deposit without justification. Determined to fight for justice, he hit a roadblock—without any evidence, he felt powerless. However, perhaps without much expectation, he turned to ChatGPT for a solution. "Yes, I know what many of your first thoughts will be. This is risky, not a replacement for a lawyer, etc. But please, hear me out," he wrote. Maloney shared his lease agreement with ChatGPT and asked if there was anything that could help him. Surprisingly, the chatbot identified a violation of a specific law by the landlord.

"It immediately identified that the landlord had violated a specific law that was passed in 2019 in my locality that prohibits charging more than one month's rent as a deposit. It cited the specific legal text and linked me to a source that confirmed it was true, and it showed me that the damages I'm entitled to are the entire deposit back plus up to 2x the deposit in punitive damages," Maloney wrote in the Reddit post. The former landlord had already admitted to violating the law but refused to return the deposit. "I have confidence that the judge will award me a favorable judgment. I only wanted the $600 back, but now I stand to gain $4k from this small claims lawsuit," Maloney revealed.

Moreover, the tenant shared that ChatGPT helped him understand the court procedure, prepare for the case and protect against a "retaliatory" and "baseless" counterclaim. Notably, when Maloney filed his case in a local court, the landlord immediately filed a $5,000 counterclaim against him. "After weeks of preparation and a tense court battle, I won. The judge dismissed the $5,000 counterclaim entirely and ruled in my favor, awarding me $1,180—a fraction of what I initially claimed, but a clear acknowledgment of the landlord's wrongdoing,"  Maloney shared in an update. 

The Reddit post quickly gained traction on social media, leaving people impressed with the capabilities of the popular chatbot. u/turbojugged wrote, "This whole thing has impressed me about ChatGPT. I am a lawyer and see papers drafted by AI all the time and it's glaringly obvious. I've never seen AI be this useful, lol!" Similarly, u/night-lion commented, "ChatGPT also helped me win in the small claims court a couple of weeks ago. It was about a contract dispute. I wouldn't use it for large or serious claims, but it's useful for small cases where the cost of a lawyer outweighs the amount owed. Always ask for a source for each legislation it draws upon, so you can double-check. u/k3surfacer wrote, "Good bot. Good use of the bot. Good sharing."