Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 25-CV-23877-RAR
ALEXEY DUBININ,
Plaintiff,
v.
VARSENIK PAPAZIAN, Miami Asylum Office Director,
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,
Defendant.
_____________________________________/
ORDER STRIKING COMPLAINT, ENTERING SANCTIONS, AND REFERRING
COUNSEL TO THE FLORIDA BAR AND GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Plaintiff’s responses to two Orders to Show
Cause, [ECF Nos. 9, 12], prompted by counsel’s cites to non-existent cases and quotations in a
brief that appeared to be drafted using artificial intelligence. On November 17, 2025, the Court
held an in-person show cause hearing (“Hearing”) on this matter. [ECF No. 13].
On August 28, 2025, Plaintiff’s counsel, Missiva Tilleli Khacer, filed a Complaint and
Action in Mandamus and Under the Administrative Procedure Act (“Complaint”) on behalf of an
immigration client. [ECF No. 1]. Ms. Khacer, who is a member of the Florida Bar, was the only
attorney to sign the Complaint. Id. at 9. On October 8, 2025, Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss
Plaintiff’s Complaint (“Motion”). [ECF No. 5]. On October 23, 2025, Ms. Khacer filed Plaintiff’s
Response in Opposition to Defendant’ Motion to Dismiss (“Response”). [ECF No. 6]. And on
October 29, 2025, Defendant filed its Reply to Plaintiff’s Response (“Reply”). [ECF No. 7].
Defendant’s Reply pointed to several inaccuracies in Plaintiff’s Response. 	Specifically,
Defendant asserted that “Plaintiff’s Counsel relied (1) on quotes that do not appear in binding
Eleventh Circuit opinions and (2) a decision from this Court that does not exist . . . .” 	Id. at 5.
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This was confirmed by the Court’s independent review of the cases cited in Plaintiff’s Response.
Accordingly, the Court entered an Order to Show Cause listing at least ten instances where
Plaintiff’s Response cited to non-existent cases and quotes.1 [ECF No. 8]. The Court ordered Ms.
Khacer to show cause in writing “whether she intentionally, and with the use of generative artificial
intelligence tools, made misrepresentations to the Court and why sanctions should not be imposed
for misrepresentations of legal authority.” Id. at 6.
In her response to the Order to Show Cause, [ECF No. 9], Ms. Khacer admitted to filing a
brief riddled with inaccuracies but did not attribute these inaccuracies to the use of artificial
intelligence. Instead, Ms. Khacer explained that she “delegated the drafting of the pleading to
another attorney under Counsel’s supervision” and “failed to independently review and verify each
citation prior to filing.” Id. at 1. The Court then ordered Ms. Khacer to disclose the name of the
attorney who assisted in drafting the Complaint and the Response. [ECF No. 11]. Ms. Khacer
filed another response where she identified the attorney in question as Nataliya Gavlin—a member
of the New York Bar. [ECF No. 12]. Ms. Gavlin never entered an appearance in this case, nor
did she seek pro hac vice admission.
Both Ms. Khacer and Ms. Gavlin appeared before the Court at the Hearing on November
17, 2025. [ECF No. 13]. The Court asked Ms. Gavlin whether she used artificial intelligence in
drafting Plaintiff’s Response. Ms. Gavlin denied using artificial intelligence herself but admitted
that she delegated drafting to her legal assistant who did. The Court then asked Ms. Khacer about
her litigation history within the Southern District of Florida, where she has filed numerous
immigration mandamus actions over the past few years. In many of these cases, Ms. Khacer failed
1 Notably, while not as egregious as the use of AI in her Response, the Court, in its Order to Show Cause,
[ECF No. 8], noted the potential presence of hallucinated cases in Plaintiff’s Complaint as well. Defendant
confirmed this concern at the Hearing.
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to respond to Defendant’s motion to dismiss, resulting in the issuance of orders to show cause;
moreover, these show cause orders have often gone unanswered by Ms. Khacer, resulting in
several dismissals for failure to prosecute and/or failure to follow court orders. See, e.g., Osipian
v. Papazian, No. 25-22426-KMW (S.D. Fla.); Shchukin v. Papazian, No. 25-21560-RKA (S.D.
Fla.); Shakhmantau v. Papazian, No. 25-20108-MD (S.D. Fla.); Stashkov v. Papazian, No. 23-
23804-FAM (S.D. Fla.). Notably, in Osipian, Judge Williams’ order granting Defendant’s motion
to dismiss by default specifically flagged that Ms. Khacer’s response may have been drafted using
artificial intelligence.2 Ms. Khacer noted that Ms. Gavlin also assisted her with these cases and
others, even though Ms. Gavlin is not a member of the Florida Bar and never sought pro hac vice
admission. 	And while Ms. Khacer cited medical issues to excuse her inability to diligently
prosecute these cases, she failed to explain why she continued taking on new clients in light of her
personal difficulties.
Given Ms. Khacer’s misconduct in this case and others, including her misrepresentations
to the Court, sanctions are appropriate. See ByoPlanet Int’l, LLC v. Johansson, 792 F. Supp. 3d
1341, 1351 (S.D. Fla. 2025). 	Courts rely on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in assessing
sanctions before turning to their inherent powers. See Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 50
(1991). 	Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)(2) provides that, by filing a pleading or motion
with the court, an attorney certifies “the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted
by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law
2 Osipian, No. 25-22426, ECF No. 11, at 2 n.1 (“It appears that the Response may have been generated
using artificial intelligence software, given the presence of several peculiarities unlikely to exist in a filing
drafted by a lawyer. 	First, the Response is titled as a response to “Defendant’s Anticipated Motion to
Dismiss,” despite the fact that Defendant had already filed its Motion, and the Court had specifically made
Plaintiff aware of this in its September 5 Order (DE 8). 	Second, as a single-spaced document with no
pagination, the Response does not comply with basic formatting requirements of Local Rule 5.1(a). Finally,
the Response references ‘Defendant’s reliance on Telecommunications Research & Action Center v. FCC,
750 F.2d 70 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (“TRAC”)[,]’ despite Defendant never citing that case nor the TRAC factors
by name in its Motion. (DE 7 at 2).”).
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or for establishing new law.” FED . R. CIV . P. 11(b)(2). A court can impose an appropriate sanction
on an attorney who violates Rule 11(b) on its own initiative. See FED . R. CIV . P. 11(c)(1), (3).
“The initiating court must [also] employ (1) a ‘show-cause’ order to provide notice and an
opportunity to be heard; and (2) a higher standard (‘akin to contempt’) than in the case of party-
initiated sanctions.” Kaplan v. DaimlerChrysler, A.G., 331 F.3d 1251, 1255 (11th Cir. 2003).
Federal courts also possess “certain ‘inherent powers,’ not conferred by rule or statute, to
manage their own affairs so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases.”
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, 581 U.S. 101, 107 (2017) (cleaned up) (quoting Link v.
Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630–31 (1962)). 	“To exercise its inherent power to impose
sanctions, a court must find that the party acted in bad faith.” 	Versant Funding LLC v. Teras
Breakbulk Ocean Navigation Enters., LLC, No. 17-81140, 2025 WL 1440351, at *3 (S.D. Fla.
May 20, 2025) (citing McDonald v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., 186 F. App’x 930, 931 (11th Cir.
2006)). Courts employ a subjective bad-faith standard, which can be met if an attorney’s conduct
is so egregious that it could only be committed in bad faith. Purchasing Power, LLC v. Bluestem
Brands, Inc., 851 F.3d 1218, 1224–25 (11th Cir. 2017). While recklessness alone cannot constitute
bad faith, a filing that is both reckless and frivolous can. Id. at 1223–25.
The Court may also impose sanctions pursuant to the Local Rules of the Southern District
of Florida, which incorporate the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. 	See S.D. Fla. Local R.
6(b)(2)(A). 	Regarding attorney competence, the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar state that a
lawyer must keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, “including an understanding of
the benefits and risks associated with the use of technology, including generative artificial
intelligence.” Fla. R. Reg. Fla. Bar 4-1.1, Comment, Maintaining Competence.
Further, 28 U.S.C. § 1927 also permits the imposition of sanctions against an attorney who
“engag[es] in practices that unnecessarily delay or increase the complexity of the litigation” so
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long as the court finds “(1) the attorney engaged in unreasonable and vexatious conduct; (2) such
conduct multiplied the proceedings; and (3) the amount of the award does not exceed the costs,
expenses, and attorney’s fees reasonably incurred due to such conduct.” 	Versant, 2025 WL
1440351, at *3.
Courts in this District have found that sanctions are appropriate where counsel repeatedly
used artificial intelligence to cite hallucinated cases and quotations. See ByoPlanet, 792 F. Supp.
3d at 1356 (finding that attorney’s use of AI “led to repeated bad-faith misrepresentations to the
Court” and justified sanctions including “monetary sanctions, referral to the Florida bar, and
required notification to other courts and litigants”); Versant, 2025 WL 1440351, at *4 (finding that
attorneys “violated Rule 11 in submitting a fake hallucinated case citation which allegedly
supported a principle of law for which they were advocating.”).
As in other cases where counsel submitted briefs laden with AI-generated cases and
quotations, sanctions are appropriate here. Regardless of who exactly used artificial intelligence
to draft Plaintiff’s Response, only Ms. Khacer’s name is on the signature block. See ByoPlanet,
792 F. Supp. 3d at 1354–55 (sanctioning attorney who “stated that he relied on a paralegal—a non-
lawyer—to draft submissions to the Court and failed to review the paralegal’s work before [he]
filed these documents . . . .”). 	Thus, it is counsel’s duty to ensure that all legal contentions are
supported by existing law. See FED . R. CIV . P. 11(b)(2). Based on the gross legal inaccuracies in
Plaintiff’s AI-generated Response and Complaint, Ms. Khacer has not adequately discharged her
duty. Moreover, Ms. Khacer’s use of AI was “so egregious that this Court finds that [it was] done
in bad faith.” ByoPlanet, 792 F. Supp. 3d at 1355. Indeed, she “did not understand the benefits
and risks associated with generative AI [which] led to repeated bad-faith misrepresentations to the
Court.” Id. at 1356. And her repeated misconduct across multiple cases in this District amounts
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to “unreasonable and vexatious conduct, which multiplied the proceedings” and wasted Court
resources. Id.
The Court is sympathetic to the fact that Ms. Khacer was suffering from medical issues
which may have contributed to her lack of oversight and overreliance on artificial intelligence.
But such issues do not serve as a license to obviate her ethical obligations. See Landfall 2, Inc. v.
Datascore-AI, LLC, No. 22-80801, 2023 WL 2126121, at *19 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 8, 2023), report and
recommendation adopted, No. 22-80801, 2023 WL 2276467 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 16, 2023) (“Although
Plaintiff’s counsel now blames his numerous failures to comply with this Court’s Orders and to
timely provide requisite discovery on a number of different health issues, Plaintiff’s claim of
medical issues came after the fact when Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s counsel were confronted with
potential sanctions.” (citation omitted)). Ms. Khacer explained at the Hearing that her medical
issues predated this case and similarly impacted other matters. However, when pressed by the
Court on why she continued to take clients and file new complaints given her ongoing health
concerns, Ms. Khacer demurred and did not offer any explanation.
Accordingly, the Court finds it appropriate to strike Plaintiff’s Complaint, enter sanctions
against Ms. Khacer in the form of attorneys’ fees, and refer her to the Florida Bar and this Court’s
Ad Hoc Committee on Attorney Admissions, Peer Review, and Attorney Grievance (“Grievance
Committee”). At the Hearing, Ms. Khacer did not contest these sanctions, and the parties conferred
to determine the appropriate amount of attorneys’ fees that she should owe to Defendant. As for
Ms. Gavlin, despite neither being a member of the Florida Bar nor admitted to appear pro hac vice,
she has clearly played an outsized—if not leading—role in this case and others brought in the
Southern District of Florida by Ms. Khacer. 	Thus, the Court will also refer Ms. Gavlin to the
Florida Bar and the Grievance Committee for an investigation into her relationship with Ms.
Khacer and the nature of her conduct in this District.
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Based on the foregoing, and pursuant to Rule 11, the Court’s inherent authority, the Local
Rules of the Southern District of Florida, and 28 U.S.C. § 1927, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1. 	Plaintiff’s Complaint is STRICKEN.
2. 	This 	case is 	DISMISSED 	without 	prejudice. 	All 	pending 	deadlines are
TERMINATED, and any pending motions are DENIED AS MOOT. The Clerk is directed to
CLOSE this case.
3. 	Attorney Missiva Tilleli Khacer is ORDERED to pay Defendant’s attorneys’ fees
in the amount agreed upon by the parties at the Hearing—$4,030.90 for an estimated 26.5 hours
spent on the case at a rate of $152.11 per hour.
4. 	Attorney Missiva Tilleli Khacer is REFERRED to the Florida Bar and the
Grievance Committee for the appropriate discipline.
5. 	Attorney Nataliya Gavlin is REFERRED to the Florida Bar and the Grievance
Committee for an investigation into whether any disciplinary action is warranted based on her
activities within this District.
DONE AND ORDERED in Miami, Florida, this 21st day of November, 2025.
_________________________________
RODOLFO A. RUIZ II
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Copies Provided To:
Alexey Dubinin
2961 Brighton 3rd Street, Apt. 1
Brooklyn, NY 11235
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