Claiming that he was injured when a metal serving cart struck his knee during a flight from El Salvador to New York in 2019, Robert Mata recently sued Avianca Airlines. Avianca filed a motion to dismiss in New York federal court arguing the lawsuit was too late; the statute of limitations had expired. Vehemently objecting, Mata’s lawyers filed a 10-page reply brief citing more than half a dozen apparently-relevant court decisions. Among them was Varghese v. China Southern Airlines which purported to offer a learned discussion of federal law and “the tolling effect of the automatic stay on a statute of limitations.” What if none of Mata’s reply brief was true?Continue Reading Legal Research Gone Wrong: A Cautionary Tale About Relying on ChatGPT
Sometime ago Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux conveyed a pipeline easement to Nodding Donkey Pipelines for the construction, operation and maintenance of a 24-inch pipeline across his Big Bux Ranch. In an email sent before Christmas, Lannie Landman with Nodding Donkey requested an easement for a second pipeline on the North side of the existing line.
Mark Eting is one of Duncey’s Caps top outside sales agents. Because the company is based in Texas, but Mark lives in Cleveland and sells for the company in the northeast, Mark purchased a personal computer and a laptop to use for work purposes, but did not get reimbursed by the company. He did, however, provide the computer to Duncey’s IT department to install the company’s sales tracking program. Unbeknownst to Mark, the IT department also installed software that allowed the company to determine when Mark accessed the sales tracking program and what information he accessed. Duncey’s employee handbook – which Mark acknowledged – stated the company could monitor his use and access of company data on personal devices. For the laptop, Mark purchased software called “LogMeIn” which allowed him to remotely access the home personal computer while he was on the road. Thus, Mark could use his laptop while traveling, access the home computer, and enter the sales data. At a team sales retreat, Mark casually mentioned to his boss, Tom Prior, how he logged his sales data on the road by using LogMeIn. 
Excited about closing on his new house, Furst Thyme Byer received emailed wire transfer instructions for his full $250,000 payment from his broker Chad at Chase N Rainbows Realtors. Complying with Chad’s instructions in the letter, Furst emailed Schneckner at Schneck’s Loans who wired the closing funds, as instructed, to what they both thought was In-O-Cent Title Company’s account. The next day, Ida at In-O-Cent Title called Furst looking for the money. Checking with Schneck’s Loans, Furst confirmed the funds were wired to the In-O-Cent Title account as directed. But In-O-Cent Title never received the money. The wiring instructions were bogus. They came from a similar email address, but it was not Chase N Rainbows’ – nor was it In-O-Cent Title’s bank account. Is anyone besides Furst responsible for the missing funds? If so, who? The title company? The mortgage broker? The real estate broker?
Having won her primary, Starr Struuck is ready to update her campaign website and Instagram feed to jazz up her image and promote the reasons why she should win the general election. Having been chastised by 
Running for office, Starr Struuck sent out a campaign newsletter extolling her qualifications and a list of reasons why she should be elected rather than her incumbent opponent. Prominently displayed in her newsletter and website was a personalized and autographed Comic-Con convention photograph of Starr Struuck perched beside wildly popular and well-known Captain Kurff of Star Warp’d. When advised of her campaign literature,