A US lawyer is in legal trouble after citing cases ‘invented’ by ChatGPT in a lawsuit. Roberto Mata had sued the airline Avianca, claiming he was injured when, during a flight to New York’s Kennedy International Airport, a metal serving cart struck his knee. When Avianca asked a Manhattan federal judge to throw out the case, Mata’s lawyers put forward a 10-page brief citing multiple related court decisions, including Martinez v. Delta Air Lines, Zicherman v. Korean Air Lines and Varghese v. China Southern Airlines.
The problem with this brief was that while Martinez and Zicherman were real cases, Varghese had only been mentioned in a program developed by an AI language software company called ChatGPT. So, the citation was indicative of the legal team’s lack of professionalism, or worse, an intention to fool the court. Consequently, the judge dismissed the case, saying it was brought with unclean hands, and that such carelessness with legal matters was intolerable.
Avianca is one of the region’s largest airlines, headquartered in Bogota, Colombia. Incorporated in 1920 as SCADTA, and since 1949 known as Avianca, the company has a presence in almost every country in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Avianca is a major player in the global air transport market, offering both cargo and passenger services.
Roberto Mata is a New York resident who originally filed suit against Avianca stating that his knee was injured when a metal serving cart was pushed into him following a flight to Kennedy International Airport. Mata had kindly asked to be compensated by Avianca for the injury, however his claims were ultimately rejected because of the sloppy way his legal team presented the case. Consequently, the case was dismissed, and Mata now faces legal trouble for citing invented cases in the lawsuit.
