Tracker · courts
When AI invents the law.
Leading decisions where lawyers were sanctioned, disqualified or suspended over AI-fabricated citations. The pattern is clear: the tool is never the excuse.
15leading decisions tracked
2023first major sanction (Mata v. Avianca)
June 2026most recent: Withers v. City of Aberdeen
| Case | What happened | Outcome | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withers v. City of Aberdeen N.D. Miss. · June 2026 | Lawyers on both sides filed briefs containing AI-hallucinated material. | Four lawyers sanctioned | Check the other side’s citations too, and your own. |
| Nebraska Supreme Court (divorce appeal) Neb. · April 16, 2026 | 57 of 63 citations in a brief were defective; the lawyer initially attributed the brief to traditional research. | Temporary licence suspension pending disciplinary hearing | Concealment can cost you your licence. |
| Whiting v. City of Athens 6th Cir. · March 13, 2026 | Appellate briefs contained more than two dozen fabricated citations and misrepresentations of the record. | $15,000 per attorney, opposing party’s appellate fees, double costs, disciplinary referral | Lawyers must personally read and verify every citation. |
| Fletcher v. Experian 5th Cir. · February 2026 | Briefing contained fabricated quotations, reportedly despite use of legal research AI tools. | $2,500 sanction | “The tool was built for lawyers” is no defence. |
| Couvrette v. Wisnovsky D. Or. · December 2025 | Three summary-judgment briefs cited 15 nonexistent cases and 8 fabricated quotations; counsel refiled rather than withdrawing. | $110,204.38 combined sanctions and fees; case dismissed with prejudice; bar notified | Resisting after notice multiplies the cost. |
| Noland v. Land of the Free, L.P. Cal. Ct. App. (2d Dist.) · September 2025 | Appellate briefing contained fabricated quotations attributed to real cases. | $10,000 sanction and referral to the State Bar | Fake quotations inside real cases are a common failure. |
| Johnson v. Dunn N.D. Ala. · July 2025 | Filings by attorneys at a large firm included fabricated citations generated with ChatGPT. | Attorneys removed from the case and referred to the bar | Firm reputation does not shield individual lawyers. |
| Coomer v. Lindell D. Colo. · July 2025 | Brief contained nearly thirty defective citations. | $3,000 fine per attorney (a later order in 2026 added further sanctions) | High-profile matters attract high-profile scrutiny. |
| Lacey v. State Farm C.D. Cal. (Special Master) · May 2025 | Brief contained multiple bogus citations produced with AI tools across two firms. | $31,100 in sanctions | Large firms are not immune; supervision gaps are costly. |
| Wadsworth v. Walmart Inc. D. Wyo. · February 2025 | Motions in limine cited eight nonexistent cases generated by a firm’s in-house AI tool. | $5,000 total sanctions; one pro hac vice admission revoked | Signing counsel share responsibility for what they sign. |
| Kohls v. Ellison D. Minn. · January 2025 | An expert declaration cited academic sources that did not exist, drafted with AI assistance. | Declaration excluded | The risk extends to experts and evidence, not only briefs. |
| Gauthier v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. E.D. Tex. · November 2024 | Response cited nonexistent cases and fabricated quotations produced with an AI tool. | $2,000 penalty and AI-related CLE | Every major tool has been implicated, not only ChatGPT. |
| Park v. Kim 2d Cir. · January 2024 | Reply brief cited a nonexistent case generated by ChatGPT. | Referral to the court’s Grievance Panel | Appellate courts treat this as a professional-conduct matter. |
| People v. Crabill Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge · November 2023 | Lawyer filed a motion with ChatGPT-fabricated cases and was found to have misled the court about it. | Suspension from practice | Dishonesty about AI errors turns a mistake into misconduct. |
| Mata v. Avianca, Inc. S.D.N.Y. · June 2023 | Brief cited six nonexistent decisions generated by ChatGPT, with fabricated quotations. | $5,000 sanction on lawyers and firm | The case that put the profession on notice. |
Dataset shared with the AI for Lawyers Academy sanctions tracker and linked to each source. A selection of leading decisions, not a complete list.
The verification playbook that prevents this.
Super Intelligence (SI) for Lawyers 2026 includes a step-by-step method for catching invented cases and misquotes before they reach a court.
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