Youssian v Village of Kings Point

Why this matter warrants attention

Misrepresented: Case Law | The petition attributed to Astacio a holding that an agency cannot accept an applicant’s assertions about environmental impacts at face value and must exercise independent judgment under SEQRA. The court found that the quotation and proposition were fabricated or altered and were not the holding of the case. Outcome: Petition and amended petition stricken; Monetary Sanction; Adverse Costs Order. Petitioners’ counsel used Spellbook AI in drafting an Article 78 petition and memorandum that contained fabricated quotations and materially misrepresented holdings from legitimate cases. The court specifically found that Astacio, Chem Specialties, Douglaston, and Pell were cited for propositions they did not support, with Pell having nothing to do with planning boards or ordinances. After initially denying the errors and later conceding AI citation errors, counsel was sanctioned $5,000 under New York’s frivolous-conduct rules and ordered to pay $8,000 to 22 Liam Properties LLC and $2,000 to the Village respondents for fees and costs. Because the pleadings were substantially founded on the hallucinated authorities, the court struck both the original and amended petitions and dismissed the action.