The brief referenced a case titled “Royer v Nelson.” However, the case did not exist in any legal database.

Utah Court of Appeals documents show Bednar “acknowledged ‘the errors contained in the petition’ and apologized.” Court documents also stated in April, Bednar and his attorney “acknowledged that the petition contained fabricated legal authority. Additionally, they admitted they obtained the case law from ChatGPT. As a result, they accepted responsibility for the contents of the petition.

Bednar claims his attorney, an “unlicensed law clerk,” wrote up the brief. However, Bednar did not “independently check the accuracy” before he made the filing. Court found Durbano had no involvement in the creation of the petition. Bednar discovered his law clerk was responsible for the filing. The clerk was a recent law school graduate. Bednar later terminated clerk from the law firm.

The outlet added that Bednar offered to pay any related attorney fees to “make amends”.

The Utah court of appeals said:

“We agree that the use of AI in the preparation of pleadings is a legal research tool that will continue to evolve with advances in technology. However, we emphasize that every attorney has an ongoing duty to review and ensure the accuracy of their court filings. In the present case, petitioner’s counsel fell short of their gatekeeping responsibilities as members of the Utah State Bar when they submitted a petition that contained fake precedent generated by ChatGPT.”

As a result, the court ordered Bednar to pay the respondent’s attorney fees. He also ordered to refund fees to their client for the time used to prepare the filing. Additionally. The court also ordered Bednar to donate $1,000 to the Utah-based legal non-profit, And Justice for All.