10th Circuit sanctions lawyer $1,000 for ChatGPT-fabricated appellate brief
Feb 2026
Maryland attorney Kusmin Amarsingh used ChatGPT to draft her appellate brief against Frontier Airlines without verifying any citations, resulting in multiple nonexistent cases being cited in the 10th Circuit. The court found her conduct "reckless" for completely failing to perform "an attorney's fundamental duty to the court." She was fined $1,000 and referred to Maryland attorney-disciplinary authorities.
Incident Details
Perpetrator:Attorney
Severity:Facepalm
Blast Radius:Client's appeal dismissed; attorney faces $1,000 fine and disciplinary referral; case adds to mounting appellate-level precedent on AI citation verification duties