Image by Tingey Injury Law Firm, from Unsplash
Woman Wins Eviction Case Using ChatGPT Instead of a Lawyer
Reading time: 2 min
Last Updated: Oct 9, 2025
-
![Kiara Fabbri]()
-
![Sarah Frazier]()
Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Content Manager
A California woman overturned her eviction using ChatGPT, joining a growing wave of people relying on AI to fight legal battles without lawyers.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- AI helped her overturn $55,000 in penalties and $18,000 in rent.
- More litigants are using AI instead of lawyers in U.S. courts.
- Some users are fined for citing fake AI-generated cases.
Facing eviction from her mobile home in Long Beach, California, Lynn White had no money for a lawyer. After losing with a court-appointed attorney, she decided to appeal, this time with the help of ChatGPT, as first reported by NBC News.
“It was like having God up there responding to my questions,” White said.
By feeding the chatbot her legal documents, White said ChatGPT helped her identify errors, research laws, and draft responses.
After months of litigation, she overturned her eviction notice, avoiding $55,000 in penalties and $18,000 in rent. “I never, ever, ever, ever could have won this appeal without AI,” she said.
With more generative AI tools available, many litigants are skipping lawyers and using chatbots as their legal guides. “I’ve seen more and more pro se litigants in the last year than I have in probably my entire career,” said Meagan Holmes, a paralegal in Phoenix.
But results vary. Some users succeed, while others face fines for filing false citations invented by AI. “They take it very, very seriously and don’t let you off the hook because you’re a pro se litigant,” said Earl Takefman, who once cited a nonexistent case.
Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer said, “We don’t claim to be 100% accurate, but we do claim to be the only company who works on it relentlessly.”
Despite the risks, lawyers see promise. “Going forward in the legal profession, all attorneys will have to use AI in some way or another,” said attorney Andrew Montez.
White, who calls AI her “virtual law clerk,” added, “It felt like David and Goliath, except my slingshot was AI.”
Latest articles 
