Wanyu Zhang v. National Public Radio, Inc.
D. DC · Dec 18, 2025
- Jurisdiction
- federal
- Court
- D. DC
- Record ID
- wanyu-zhang-v-national-public-radio-inc-2025-12-18
- Observed outcome
- Opposition brief stricken; counsel ordered to pay defendant's reasonable attorneys' fees and costs related to the flawed filing.
- Known monetary consequence
- $1
Why this matter warrants attention
The court struck the plaintiff's opposition brief and ordered plaintiff's counsel to pay the defendant's reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred due to the inclusion of fabricated and mischaracterized case law, finding the conduct reckless and a multiplication of proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1927.
Fabricated: Case Law | Opposition brief cited a non-existent case as if it were binding authority. || Fabricated: Case Law | Opposition brief cited a non-existent case as if it were binding authority. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Howard Univ. v. Best as supporting elements of fraudulent misrepresentation though that decision did not address such a claim. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Lockhart v. Coastal Int'l Sec., Inc. with a quoted phrase and asserted it supported the wrongful termination theory though Lockhart did not contain the quoted phrasing nor resolve the public policy wrongful termination issue as claimed. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Vega v. Hempstead as recognizing that conditioning employment on immigration barriers can be adverse action, though Vega did not involve immigration issues. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Described Larijani v. Georgetown Univ. as sustaining an IIED claim involving visa/immigration issues though the cited reporter and the actual Larijani decision do not involve such issues. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Bible Way Church for promissory estoppel proposition though no promissory estoppel claim was on appeal in that decision. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Robertson v. District of Columbia as holding that employer conduct must be evaluated in full context to support public policy exceptions, though Robertson did not reach the merits of a wrongful termination public-policy claim as presented. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Myers v. Alutiq as supporting the proposition that employers cannot skirt responsibility for visa-related harm, though Myers did not involve visa or immigration issues. || Misrepresented: Case Law | Cited Rodriguez v. Lab'y Corp. as confirming concealment can support a fraud claim though Rodriguez denied the fraudulent misrepresentation claim and did not hold concealment supported fraud in the manner asserted.
This record documents a Lawyer filing issue in D. DC, with the listed outcome: Brief struck; Adverse Costs Order.
Failure modes and consequences
- Fabricated Case Law
- Misrepresented Case Law
- Failure To Verify Citations
- Fake Citations
- Fabricated Quotes
- Misrepresented Authority
- AI attribution
- Implied
- Recorded tool
- Google search engine AI features
- Known monetary consequence
- $1
- Procedural posture
- The court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss on all counts and issued a sanctions order against plaintiff's counsel for filing an unreliable brief.
Damien Charlotin case archive
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What this record does—and does not—establish
Counsel admitted using Google summaries.
Retained unchanged after audit: the existing summary is source-specific, non-placeholder, and supported by the recorded source link. Read the underlying source before relying on it for legal advice or a filing.
Latest evidence review: Primary Document Verified (high confidence).
Controls suggested by the public record
- Verify each cited authority, quotation, and proposition against the underlying source before filing.
- Confirm that every authority actually supports the proposition for which it is offered.