Several cases submitted by counsel ‘questionable’ with 'bogus’ quotes and citations
In an "unprecedented" case, a lawyer who has been licensed in New York for over three decades recently apologized for presenting fake cases in court.
His source? The infamous ChatGPT.
Steven Schwartz, an associate in the New York office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, was handling the case of Roberto Mata, who was suing Avianca airlines after he sustained personal injuries while onboard one its carriers. Avianca moved to dismiss the case, while Mata and his representatives opposed this in court.
In this move, however, Avianca's lawyers pointed out that the many of the cases submitted by Mata's counsel were "questionable."
The Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in response to the Court's inquiry, confirmed that one of the cases cited by Schwartz - the Varghese v China South Airlines Ltd – is non-existent. Other decisions cited by Mata's counsel that also appear to be fake include:
"The court is presented with an unprecedented circumstance," said United States District Judge Kevin Castel. "Six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations."
Castel issued a show cause order on why Mata's counsel should not be...
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