About

Florida judge strikes ex-Chartwell lawyer’s sanctions motion over AI citation errors

Published
Score
18

Why it matters

A Florida federal judge has struck a sanctions motion filed by Christopher Sharp, counsel for former Chartwell Law Offices LLP attorney Zohra Khorashi, and indicated she may impose monetary sanctions against Sharp himself for relying on hallucinated AI-generated case citations. The ruling rejected Sharp's attempt to sanction Chartwell in an underlying employment-discrimination case.

Khorashi sued Chartwell in federal court in March 2026, alleging the firm terminated her in retaliation for social-media posts about Gaza. Her complaint invokes 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, and alleges she suffered reduced work assignments, demotion, heightened monitoring of her personal social media, and ultimately termination—while similarly situated employees were treated more favorably. Sharp's now-stricken sanctions motion was grounded in citations that the judge found to be fabricated by artificial intelligence.

The significance lies not merely in the denial of Sharp's request but in the judge's signal that she may sanction the lawyer directly. This episode reflects a growing judicial reckoning with unreliable AI use in litigation filings. Practitioners should note that courts are moving beyond simple rejection of AI-assisted work product to active enforcement against counsel who submit briefs containing fabricated authority.

mail Subscribe to Employment Law email updates

Primary sources. No fluff. Straight to your inbox.

Also on LawSnap