Lawyer sanctioned for phony AI generated citations

BEAUMONT – Texas Lawbook reports a plaintiff’s lawyer in Beaumont has been sanctioned by a federal judge for submitting a response brief that included citations to “nonexistent cases” and “nonexistent quotations” generated by artificial intelligence. In the underlying lawsuit, James Gauthier sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Jefferson County district court in June 2023 alleging that, after working for the company for 24 and a half years, he was fired after he “refused to alter” the timeline of events related to a June 2021 release of hydrocarbons at the company’s Jefferson County plant, which he reported. Gauthier alleges the company wanted him to revise his timeline so it could “avoid a violation for releasing hydrocarbons and failing to timely report and respond to the release.” Goodyear removed the suit to federal court in July 2023.

In a brief in support of its motion for summary judgment, Goodyear explained that it had concerns about the case law Gauthier cited. “Although Gauthier ostensibly cites cases to support his opposition to Goodyear’s motion, the undersigned has been unable to locate two of the cases and several other cases Plaintiff relies upon do not contain the quoted language and/or stand for the propositions for which they are cited,” Goodyear argued. “Based upon actual, applicable authority, the court should grant Goodyear’s motion for summary judgment” U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone issued a six-page order Nov. 25 noting that Gauthier’s counsel, Brandon Monk of The Monk Law Firm in Beaumont, failed to respond to arguments from Goodyear that “specifically identified the nonexistent legal authorities contained in the response.” “He failed to withdraw or otherwise address these issues when raised by Goodyear,” Crone wrote. “In fact, Monk’s sur-reply to Goodyear’s reply makes no mention of the problems inherent in the response. … It was only after the court entered the show cause order that Monk sought leave to amend the response.”