California court sanctions lawyer over AI‑tainted brief, stressing duty to verify filings

Summary

The California 2nd District Court of Appeal sanctioned attorney Fahim Farivar $7,500 after finding his appellate brief contained fabricated quotes and 'hallmarks of AI,' regardless of whether he actually used generative AI tools. The panel emphasized that lawyers remain fully responsible for the accuracy of filings and ordered the opinion forwarded to the State Bar, underscoring growing judicial scrutiny of unverified AI‑assisted legal work.