Federal Judge Withdraws Opinion "After Lawyers Complained That [It] Contained … Made-Up Quotes and Misstated Case Outcomes"

From Bloomberg (Justin Henry) today:

A New Jersey US district court judge withdrew his decision in a biopharma securities case Wednesday after lawyers complained that his opinion contained numerous errors, including made-up quotes and misstated case outcomes.

The judge's order states:

The Court is in receipt of Defendants counsel's letter dated July 22, 2025. On June 30, 2025, the Court issued an Opinion and Order. (ECF Nos. 114, 115.) That Opinion and Order were entered in error. Accordingly, the Court directs the Clerk of Court to remove the Opinion and Order at ECF Nos. 114 and 115 from the docket. A subsequent Opinion and Order will follow.

An excerpt from counsel's letter:

While Defendants do not seek reconsideration of the Opinion pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), we wish to bring to the Court's attention a series of errors in the Opinion—including three instances in which the outcomes of cases cited in the Opinion were misstated (i.e., the motions to dismiss were granted, not denied) and numerous instances in which quotes were mistakenly attributed to decisions that do not contain such quotes—so that the Court may consider whether amendment or any other action should be taken. We also write to alert the Court that these and related issues have been raised in a parallel securities class action lawsuit pending in the District of New Jersey and are the subject of briefing in that case. See In re Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2:23-cv-21862 (D.N.J.).

Read the letter for more.

Comments

[Snorkle]

Nobody takes pride in their work anymore.

Or maybe we've just replaced personal pride with concern for esteem from others, which is not the same thing at all, but easy to confuse in the same way respect and fear are confused.

(There's always someone who quibbles with that; then I explain the difference is, you don't worry that someone who respects you will knife you in the back.)

[dirc]

It was inevitable that judges would use AI to generate opinions, with citation results that are as accurate as those submitted by lawyers using AI to generate their briefs.

Are sanctions ever imposed on a judge for egregious errors in an opinion? If so, by whom?

[Eric Rasmusen]

Julien X. Neals." his nomination was confirmed by a 66–33 vote"
The letter is good to remember in case one has to politely tell a judge he made mistakes. Maybe it should go in a form book for lawyers.

[Kleppe]

When lawyers not in robes do the same thing, they are ordered to show cause. The judge can apparently just say it was "filed in error" and everything is perfectly fine.

[Stupid Government Tricks]

I wonder if any lawyer doing the same will have the brass balls to point out the judge did it first and did not sanction himself.

[santamonica811]

I would probably phrase it artfully, like, "Judge Neals, in this OSC for sanctions against me, for my improper citations in the Oct 4 brief, I am asking the court to apply the same standard as was used in [cite to the abovementioned case], where a prompt correction was made and no fine was imposed on the offending writer. Attorneys are--and should be!--held to a high standard for ethical conduct. And for legal competence. So too, of course, are judges. I am asking in my case merely to be held to the same standard as your honor was."

[I probably wouldn't have the guts to make such an argument in real life. But, really, I'd never use AI in my actual practice to write ANYTHING submitted to a court, so we're deeply into hypothetical situations here anyway.]

[TwelveInchPianist]

"I wonder if any lawyer doing the same will have the brass balls to point out the judge did it first and did not sanction himself."

No man shall be the judge in his own case.

[pts]

There is a law clerk somewhere, looking for a new job.

[mulched]

Not only that, but a copy of your crappy opinion was submitted in front of another judge! Enjoy!

[ReaderY]

For a judge to do this is a serious matter that should have consequences.

If a law clerk did this, the law clerk should probably be fired. We are well past the point where people can claim ignorance and expect nothing more than a tap on the wrist.

[Aturny]

I would assume a clerk did this and oughta be fired, but I believe that anyone can file a complaint with the council that handles misconduct complaints against federal judges in that circuit.

[Aturny]

In the law clerk’s defense, at least he showed initiative by using AI rather than relying on the traditional lazy method of cutting and pasting from the winning party’s brief.

[Mark In Florida]

A Biden DEI affirmative action judge? I’d be afraid to get a serious case assigned to him.