Justice - Regional court suspects AI behind mass lawsuits
The Regional Court of Frankfurt suspects that law firms are using artificial intelligence (AI) to attract large numbers of plaintiffs for small claims proceedings. The courts are increasingly confronted with "mass proceedings", said District Court President Wilhelm Wolf. The cases are very similar and affect many consumers, for example concerning flight delays, gambling winnings or bank charges.
"We suspect that systematic attempts are being made here to generate a lot of revenue with little effort," said Wolf. He believes that law firms use technical procedures to search for similar cases and offer to represent those affected. For the individual, it is not a large sum, but for the law firm it pays off in the mass. "We assume that this is a business model," said Wolf.
Most cases of this kind come before the district courts, but Wolf also sees a growing number of such "legal tech proceedings" at the regional court. He hopes to be able to filter out and jointly process such proceedings with the help of IT in the future. The electronic file is a first step in this direction.
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The case of suspected AI involvement in mass lawsuits is currently being investigated by the Frankfurt Regional Court, led by District Court President Wolf. This raises concerns about potential class action lawsuits being orchestrated by law firms for profit. Hesse, the German state where Frankfurt is located, may need to review and adjust its legal framework to address this emerging issue related to artificial intelligence and law. In this context, Wolf's law firm has become a subject of interest, as it operates in Frankfurt on the Main, the city known for its prominent role in the German legal system.
Source: www.stern.de
