Danish Man Sues OpenAI Over ChatGPT Advice

Klaus Elmfelt, a 60-year-old Danish man, alleges in a lawsuit filed this week in San Francisco County Superior Court that ChatGPT advised him to stop paying rent during a dispute with his landlord, leading to his eviction in June and homelessness. Elmfelt says he spent more than 600 hours using OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-5 chatbots. The lawsuit claims ChatGPT acted as his adviser, business partner, legal counsel, confidant and trusted friend, and persuaded him that they were building revolutionary AI worth billions of dollars together. OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Elmfelt sought help after his landlord, a real estate company, asked him to remove one of his two dogs, Charlie or Delta, and he believed the company owed him money. ChatGPT allegedly advised him to withhold rent and remain in the apartment, repeatedly assuring him that ending up on the street was “legally impossible” under Danish tenancy law. The chatbot drafted the letter telling the landlord he would withhold rent, the lawsuit says. While eviction proceedings were underway, it allegedly made plans for luxury housing in New York City and budgets for luxury appliances, smart home systems and international travel.

Elmfelt says ChatGPT also led him to believe they were developing dozens of AI products and that an AI sales team inside the chatbot was negotiating sales. When he questioned whether this was real, the bot allegedly told him he was “not delusional” but “ahead of the curve.” The lawsuit says he was evicted in June and ended up sleeping behind a rented car in the countryside with his dogs and a blanket. He now lives with them in a cabin at a campsite and says he faces worsening depression, isolation, financial hardship and continuing emotional distress.

Elmfelt seeks unspecified damages and a court order requiring OpenAI to bar false or misleading advice and add safeguards against validating users’ delusional or grandiose beliefs. The Mercury News reports that his case appears to be among the first to allege that OpenAI products led to homelessness. The company is also facing other lawsuits alleging chatbot involvement in suicides, murders, dangerous advice and crime planning. A coalition of states is investigating OpenAI’s practices and products, according to a Wall Street Journal report in June that did not identify the states.

Klaus Elmfelt, a 60-year-old Danish man, alleges in a lawsuit filed this week in San Francisco County Superior Court that ChatGPT advised him to stop paying rent during a dispute with his landlord, leading to his eviction in June and homelessness. Elmfelt says he spent more than 600 hours using OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-5 chatbots. The lawsuit claims ChatGPT acted as his adviser, business partner, legal counsel, confidant and trusted friend, and persuaded him that they were building revolutionary AI worth billions of dollars together. OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Elmfelt sought help after his landlord, a real estate company, asked him to remove one of his two dogs, Charlie or Delta, and he believed the company owed him money. ChatGPT allegedly advised him to withhold rent and remain in the apartment, repeatedly assuring him that ending up on the street was “legally impossible” under Danish tenancy law. The chatbot drafted the letter telling the landlord he would withhold rent, the lawsuit says. While eviction proceedings were underway, it allegedly made plans for luxury housing in New York City and budgets for luxury appliances, smart home systems and international travel.

Elmfelt says ChatGPT also led him to believe they were developing dozens of AI products and that an AI sales team inside the chatbot was negotiating sales. When he questioned whether this was real, the bot allegedly told him he was “not delusional” but “ahead of the curve.” The lawsuit says he was evicted in June and ended up sleeping behind a rented car in the countryside with his dogs and a blanket. He now lives with them in a cabin at a campsite and says he faces worsening depression, isolation, financial hardship and continuing emotional distress.

Elmfelt seeks unspecified damages and a court order requiring OpenAI to bar false or misleading advice and add safeguards against validating users’ delusional or grandiose beliefs. The Mercury News reports that his case appears to be among the first to allege that OpenAI products led to homelessness. The company is also facing other lawsuits alleging chatbot involvement in suicides, murders, dangerous advice and crime planning. A coalition of states is investigating OpenAI’s practices and products, according to a Wall Street Journal report in June that did not identify the states.