AI-generated court filing had name, bar number of lawyer who had nothing to do with case, complaint says
Florida foreclosure lawyer Matthew Weidner has said his name and his bar number were used in a court filing generated by artificial intelligence. And he had nothing to do with the case. (Image from Shutterstock)
Updated: A Florida foreclosure lawyer has said his name and his bar number were used in a court filing generated by artificial intelligence. And he had nothing to do with the case.
Lawyer Matthew Weidner told Florida Bar News that he learned of the problem after he was contacted by another lawyer about the filing.
Weidner has filed an unauthorized practice of law complaint against the litigation services company that filed the document, which used a court filing that he had posted online in an unrelated case.
“Somewhere in the back of my brain, I read my brilliant writing and I say, ‘Wow, whoever drafted that motion was really on their toes,’” joked Weidner, a lawyer in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The litigation services company generated the document for defendant John H. Barber in an eviction case in Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit, report Law360 and Above the Law The plaintiff in the case, U.S. Bank, is seeking sanctions for the botched filing.
The document claimed to be submitted through a “counsel” who is not a Florida licensed lawyer, according to the motion for sanctions.
The litigation services company that provided the document was Rezidential Group Inc., report Law360 and Above the Law.
Rezidential Group often downloads pleadings from the online legal research company Trellis Law, and it did so in this case, according to a response to the motion for sanctions. The aim was to quickly file the document while looking for a Florida lawyer who would provide discounted rates.
There was no intent to misappropriate Weidner’s name and bar number, Barber said in the response.
After Rezidential Group downloaded the document, “Mr. Weidner’s name and signature line were not properly edited,” the filing said. “This is a simple cut-and-paste mistake.”
Trellis Law obtained $15 million in funding last year to build out its AI capabilities, according to Law360.
Updated Aug. 6 at 7:30 p.m. to correctly state that lawyer Matthew Weidner filed an unauthorized practice of law complaint. Updated Aug. 7 at 8:30 a.m. to add information from Law360 and Above the Law.
