Legal Intelligence

OPINION AND ORDER ON SANCTIONS I. Introduction Decision and Order addresses the issue of sanctions of Plaintiff's attorneys arising in the personal injury lawsuit between Roberto Mata (Plaintiff) and Avianca, Inc. (Defendant) in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York (Case No. 22-cv-1461 (PKC)). The court has found that the Respondents, Peter LoDuca, Steven A. Schwartz, and the law firm of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman P.C. (the "Levidow Firm"), submitted non-existent judicial opinions with fake quotes and citations created by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. The court has determined that Rule 11, Fed. R. Civ. P., has been violated and sanctions are warranted. II. Background The personal injury lawsuit was commenced by Roberto Mata on February 2, 2022, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. The lawsuit was subsequently removed to federal court on February 22, 2022, based on federal question jurisdiction under t

SANCTIONS HEARING MEMORANDUM Case: Roberto Mata v. Avianca, Inc. Court: United States District Court, Southern District of New York Date: June 8, 2023 Presiding Judge: Hon. P. Kevin Castel Parties Present: Plaintiff: Roberto Mata Plaintiff's Counsel: Levidow Levidow & Oberman, P.C. - Attorney Thomas R. Corvino Defendant: Avianca, Inc. Defendant's Counsel: Condon & Forsyth LLP - Attorneys Bart Banino, Damara L. Carousis, and Marissa N. Lefland Interested Parties: Levidow Levidow & Oberman, P.C. and Steven Schwartz Interested Parties' Counsel: Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz P.C. - Attorneys Ronald C. Minkoff, Tyler Maulsby, and Ashley K. Alger Interested Party: Peter LoDuca Interested Party's Counsel: Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello P.C. - Attorneys Catherine M. Foti and Penina Moisa Witnesses: 1. Peter LoDuca 2. Steven Schwartz 3. Thomas R. Corvino Testimony of Peter LoDuca Peter LoDuca, an attorney at Levidow Levidow & Oberman, testifi

Concerned by the publicity generated by the sanctions hearing in the matter of attorneys who filed a brief containing hallucinated citations  and a possible expansive reaction by the court that might condemn all Generative AI technology for the misuse by some practitioners, CereBel filed a Proposed Amicus Curiae Brief to Support the Courts Consideration of Sanctions.  The Brief also addresses two standing orders in other districts related to the use of the technology which were prompted by the matter (“ Mandatory Certification Regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence ”, H on. B. Starr (N.D. Te x.) and “ Standing Order for Civil Cases Before Magistrate Judge Fuentes ,” N.D. Ill., May 31, 2023.) The full Brief: Summary of Amicus Curiae Brief auto-generated by CereBel's Intelligence Platform: Introduction CereBel Legal Intelligence, submits this Amicus Curiae Brief in support of the Court's consideration of sanctions against attorneys Peter LoDuca, Steven A. Schwartz, and la