she didn't pay her last month's rent. If she would have paid her rent, she would have owed ~$400. Instead, when she handed it to me a year later the fees accrued were more than $2K. I basically wrote a letter to her landlord that said she was destitute, didn't hold a steady job, and would be unable to meet her obligations. The landlord realizing that it would be bad press to go after a destitute girl in small claims, forgave most of it and put her on a payment plan. The girl was happy to comply. It was a win-win outcome.

I generally don't think landlords get much back in a contract disputes/evictions, unless the tenant is pretty affluent and is just being hard headed to get ahead.