Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Federal judge hands down $110K penalty against 2 lawyers for AI errors in court documents
A federal judge in Oregon has imposed $110,000 in fines and attorney fees against two lawyers who filed documents filled with fake cases and fabricated citations. (Image from Shutterstock)
A federal judge in Oregon has imposed $110,000 in fines and attorney fees against two lawyers who filed documents filled with fake cases and fabricated citations.
“In the quickly expanding universe of cases involving sanctions for the misuse of artificial intelligence, this case is a notorious outlier in both degree and volume,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke of the District of Oregon in his Dec. 12 opinion.
The six-figure penalty for AI hallucinations is the largest handed out by an Oregon federal judge, according to OregonLive.com, which also noted that the largest fine in the state’s appellate court was $10,000.
“Plaintiffs and their counsel have not been adequately forthcoming, candid or apologetic about their conduct,” Clarke also said in his opinion. “If there was ever an ‘appropriate case’ to grant terminating sanctions for the misuse of artificial intelligence, this is it.”
In the case, San Diego-based attorney Stephen Brigandi represented Joanne Couvrette, an Oregon woman who sued her two brothers for control of their family’s winery, OregonLive.com reports. Couvrette, who claimed that her brothers conned their mother into giving up the winery, alleged elder abuse and wrongful enrichment and sought $12 million.
Because Brigandi was not licensed to practice in the state, Portland, Oregon, attorney Tim Murphy also served a procedural role in the case, OregonLive.com reports.
While briefing the cross-motions for summary judgment, the attorneys filed three briefs that included 15 references to “nonexistent cases” and eight “fabricated quotations,” Clarke’s opinion said. After the errors were flagged by the defendants’ attorneys, Brigandi “attempted a cover-up” by removing the false information and refiling his argument, the opinion also said.
“There is no evidence that Mr. Brigandi took any steps to verify the veracity of the legal arguments contained in the amended briefing, which continue to contain misstatements of law,” Clarke wrote in his opinion.
The judge ordered Brigandi to pay $80,000 in attorney fees and about $15,000 in fines, OregonLive.com reports. He ordered Murphy, who OregonLive.com reports is primarily a landlord attorney, to pay $14,000 in additional attorney fees.
Clarke also noted in his opinion that Couvrette shared some of the responsibility for the AI errors. Defendants described her as “a serial self-represented litigator who was likely the person responsible for using artificial intelligence” to draft the briefs, and her attorneys provided no contrary evidence, the judge said.
“Ms. Couvrette’s and Mr. Brigandi’s silence, despite multiple opportunities to explain their side of the story, speaks volumes,” Clarke wrote in his opinion.
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice.
Couvrette told OregonLive.com that she plans to appeal the ruling. Brigandi did not respond to requests for comment.
Murphy told OregonLive.com that he understood the sanctions, but that he “did not write, review, research, sign or submit the briefs with AI citations.”
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
