From Massachusetts judge Brian Davis's opinion Monday in Smith v. Farwell:
[T]his Court is the unhappy recipient of several legal memoranda filed by counsel for plaintiff Darlene Smith ("Plaintiff's Counsel") that cite and rely, in part, upon wholly-fictitious case law (the "Fictitious Case Citations") in opposing the motions to dismiss filed by defendants …. When questioned about the Fictitious Case Citations, Plaintiff's Counsel disclaimed any intention to mislead the Court and eventually pointed to an unidentified AI system as the culprit behind the Fictitious Case Citations. He has, at the same time, openly and honestly acknowledged his personal lack of diligence in failing to thoroughly review the offending memoranda before they were filed with the Court…. Having considered all of the facts and circumstances, and hoping to deter similar transgressions by Plaintiff's Counsel and other attorneys in the future, the Court will require Plaintiff's Counsel to pay a monetary sanction in the amount of $2,000.00….
On November 1, 2023, all counsel appeared in person before the Court for oral argument on the Motions to Dismiss filed by Defendants W. Farwell, Devine, Heal and the Town. Before turning to the substance of the parties' motions, the Court informed Plaintiff's Counsel of its discovery of the three Fictitious Case Citations and inquired how they had come to be included in Plaintiffs Oppositions. Plaintiff's Counsel stated that he was unfamiliar with the Fictitious Case Citations and that he had no idea where or how they were obtained. When asked who had drafted the Oppositions, Plaintiff's Counsel responded that they had been prepared by "interns" at his law office. The Court thereupon directed Plaintiff's Counsel to file a written explanation of the origin of the Fictitious Case Citations on or before November 8, 2023.
On November 6, 2023, Plaintiff's Counsel submitted a letter to the Court in which he acknowledged that the Oppositions "inadvertently" included citations to multiple cases that "do not exist in reality." He attributed the bogus citations to an unidentified "AI system" that someone in his law office had used to "locat[e] relevant legal authorities to support our argument[s]." At the same time, Plaintiff's Counsel apologized to the Court for the fake citations and expressed his regret for failing to "exercise due diligence in verifying the authenticity of all caselaw references provided by the [AI] system." He represented that he recently had subscribed to LEXIS, which he now uses exclusively "to obtain cases to support our arguments." He also filed amended versions of the Oppositions that removed the Fictitious Case Citations….
[At a later hearing, Plaintiff's Counsel] explained that the Oppositions had been drafted by three legal personnel at his office; two recent law school graduates who had not yet passed the bar and one associate attorney. The associate attorney admitted, when asked, that she had utilized an AI system (Plaintiff's Counsel still did not know which one) in preparing the Oppositions.
