Mata v. Avianca, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
678 F. Supp. 3d 443 (2023)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Roberto Mata (plaintiff) sued Avianca, Inc. (defendant). Avianca filed a motion to dismiss. Mata’s attorney, Peter LoDuca, submitted a response to the motion to dismiss that included numerous citations to cases that apparently did not exist, including fake quotes and fake internal citations. To create the response, LoDuca used the artificial-intelligence program ChatGPT. The district court directed LoDuca to file an affidavit with copies of certain judicial opinions to which he had cited. LoDuca filed an affidavit with the cases appended, but the cases appeared to be fake. The district court issued an order directing LoDuca to show cause why he should not be subject to sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 (Rule 11), 28 U.S.C. § 1927, and the court’s inherent power.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Castel, J.)
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