Texas lawyer fined for AI use in latest sanction over fake citations
By Sara Merken
Nov 26 (Reuters) -A Texas federal judge sanctioned an attorney for submitting a court filing with nonexistent cases and quotations generated by artificial intelligence, as mistakes by AI continue to land lawyers in hot water.
Ruling in a wrongful termination lawsuit against Goodyear Tire & Rubber, U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone in Beaumont said Monday that the plaintiff's lawyer, Brandon Monk, must pay a $2,000 penalty and attend a course about generative AI in the legal field.
The decision is the latest in a string of cases involving discipline for lawyers over court documents containing citations or quotations that were fabricated by AI.
Monk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Kelley Edwards of Littler Mendelson, a lawyer representing Goodyear, declined to comment.
Goodyear's lawyers said in an October court filing that they could not find several cases that Monk cited in opposing Goodyear's bid for summary judgment. Crone ordered Monk earlier this month to explain why he should not be sanctioned for failing to comply with federal and local court rules, including a requirement to verify content generated by technology.
Monk in a Nov. 15 filing apologized for what he said was an unintentional error that stemmed from using an AI legal research tool. He also said quotations on some information were "not appropriately placed."
The judge on Monday faulted Monk for failing to verify the research or correct the issues after Goodyear identified them.
Federal and state courts nationally are grappling with the rise of generative AI and have issued orders governing how lawyers and judges use AI tools, which are prone to making things up.
The case is Gauthier v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 1:23-CV-00281
For the plaintiff: Brandon Monk of the Monk Law Firm
For Goodyear: Kelley Edwards and Urvashi Morolia of Littler Mendelson
Reporting by Sara Merken
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