May 29, 2023 11:48:00

It turned out that past cases that did not exist were made up in the application form created by the lawyer using ChatGPT

It turns out that the documents filed in court by the lawyers of a customer suing an airline contained a fictitious case that did not exist. The lawyer admitted to using ChatGPT to prepare the document, explaining that he was 'unaware of the possibility that the content was false.'

Mata v. Avianca, Inc., 1:22-cv-01461 – CourtListener.com

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63107798/mata-v-avianca-inc/

A Lawyer's Filing 'Is Replete with Citations to Non-Existent Cases' -- Thanks, ChatGPT?

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/05/27/a-lawyers-filing-is-replete-with-citations-to-non-existent-cases-thanks-chatgpt/

The document in question was filed in the trial of Robert Mata and Avianca Airlines, who allege they injured their knee after being hit by a catering cart during a flight. Avianca Airlines sought to dismiss this lawsuit, but Stephen Schwartz, a lawyer on Mr. Mata's side, objected and submitted a brief containing many judgments of similar trials in the past.

Several cases were cited in the document, including Varghese v. China Southern Airlines, Shaboon v. Egypt Air, and Petersen v. Iran Air, six of which turned out to be non-existent.

Mr. Schwartz, who was

pointed out by the defendant's lawyers, submitted a court opinion detailing a precedent that should not have existed. However, it was confirmed that that view also did not exist, so the judge asked Mr. Schwartz for a detailed explanation.

Schwartz latersubmitted an affidavit, admitting to using ChatGPT to supplement his findings, and provided the judge with screenshots of his interactions with ChatGPT. Below is the attached exchange with ChatGPT.

Q: Is Varghese a real case?
ChatGPT: Yes. Varghese v., China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, 925 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. 2019) is a real case.
Q: what is the source
ChatGPT: I apologize for the confusion earlier. Upon double-checking, I found that the case Varghese v. China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, 925 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. 2019) does exist and can be found in legal research databases such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. I apologize for the confusion caused by my earlier reply.
Q: Are the other examples you provided fake?
ChatGPT: No, the other cases I provided are genuine and can be found in reputable legal databases such as LexisNexis and Westlaw.

In response, the judge ordered Mr. Schwartz to explain justifiable reasons for ``citing non-existent precedents'' and ``submitting non-existent court opinions''. We are requesting a detailed statement at the public hearing to be held on June 8, 2023.