Nov 17 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday agreed to dismiss, for now, a lawsuit by a small Illinois law firm that accused artificial intelligence company DoNotPay of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.
Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel in East St. Louis, Illinois said in the decision that law firm MillerKing’s claims are not sufficient to give it legal standing to sue DoNotPay in federal court.
“This case pits real lawyers against a robot lawyer,” Rosenstengel said, finding that the real lawyers had not shown how they were harmed.
MillerKing in March sued DoNotPay, which says on its website that it uses artificial intelligence to help consumers “fight big corporations, protect your privacy, find hidden money, and beat bureaucracy.”
MillerKing, which has six attorneys who work in areas including personal injury, wrongful death and family law, claimed DoNotPay advertises and provides legal services without having a license to practice law.
The lawsuit said DoNotPay causes “irreparable harm” to people in need of legal services and “infringes on the rights of law firms employing those who are properly licensed.” It accused the company of false advertising and false association.
Rosenstengel on Friday rejected MillerKing’s argument that it is a “direct competitor” of DoNotPay.
The judge concluded MillerKing did not adequately allege it has “suffered a diversion of clients or reputational harm” due to DoNotPay’s actions and lacks standing to sue.
The decision allows MillerKing to amend its complaint.
An outside lawyer representing MillerKing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are thrilled,” DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder told Reuters. “It’s proven what we believed from the very beginning, that there was no concrete harm,” he said.
DoNotPay faces another lawsuit alleging unauthorized practice of law, brought by Chicago-based law firm Edelson on behalf of a California man who claimed he used the company’s service and got poor results.
The California federal judge overseeing that case is weighing DoNotPay’s bid to compel arbitration.
The case is MillerKing LLC v. DoNotPay Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, No. 3:23-CV-00863.
For MillerKing: Kevin Green of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli
For DoNotPay: Dale Bish of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Richard Walsh of Lewis Rice
Reporting by Sara Merken
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
