A lawyer is facing professional sanctions, after suing an airline and filing a brief with with facts that had not been checked – written entirely by ChatGPT. The suit, filed in August 2019, alleged that passenger Roberto Mata had been injured while onboard Avianca flight 670 from San Salvador to New York JFK. The airline attempted to have the case dismissed due to the statute of limitation, however the lawyer argued that the Avianca’s bankruptcy meant the statute of limitations tolled, allowing for the case to proceed.
The brief was written by ChatGPT and submitted without being checked for accuracy. Five of the cited cases that were included in the brief did not exist. There were also misconceptions in the brief as it related to the route of EgyptAir between Amsterdam and Chicago – a route that has never been serviced by EgyptAir but is rather the exclusive domain of United and KLM.
The judge has subsequently issued an order for the plaintiff’s lawyer to show cause as to why he should not be sanctioned for the filing. The lawyer then took the so-called ‘Shaggy Defense’, claiming that another lawyer in his firm had written the brief with the help of ChatGPT, and had not done any due diligence in evaluating the outcome of the ChatGPT-assisted brief.
Avianca is a Columbian airline and the second-largest carrier in Latin America. It serves over 100 destinations across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The airline was founded in 1919 as SCADTA, and currently operates a fleet of 90 aircraft and employs more than 20,000 people.
Roberto Mata is the plaintiff in the case between Avianca Airlines and his attorneys. Mr. Mata is a teacher and freelance journalist. He has written for several publications in El Salvador and has won several awards. He has been travelling since he was a child, and is passionate about the stories he collects while on his adventures.
