In fact, not only did the four University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students manage to avoid any payments in their landlord's lawsuit last week, but they earned double their security deposit when they countersued him, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Thursday.

The roommates credited their courtroom success to persistence and taking full advantage of their school's legal services.

"It took a lot of work," defendant Jessica Barber said. "We had 10 or 15 appointments with the (university's) legal clinic. We learned that you have to be persistent and you have to fight for your rights."

The court case came about after the students' landlord sued them for $4,000 each as part of a growing disagreement regarding the number of people legally able to live in their former apartment.