This database tracks legal decisions1
I.e., all documents where the use of AI, whether established or merely alleged, is addressed in more than a passing reference by the court or tribunal.
Notably, this does not cover mere allegations of hallucinations, but only cases where the court or tribunal has explicitly found (or implied) that a party relied on hallucinated content or material.
As an exception, the database also covers some judicial decisions where AI use was alleged but not confirmed. This is a judgment call on my part.
in cases where generative AI produced hallucinated content – typically fake citations, but also other types of AI-generated arguments. It does not track the (necessarily wider) universe of all fake citations or use of AI in court filings.
While seeking to be exhaustive (1082 cases identified so far), it is a work in progress and will expand as new examples emerge. This database has been featured in news media, and indeed in several decisions dealing with hallucinated material.2
Examples of media coverage include:
- M. Hiltzik, AI 'hallucinations' are a growing problem for the legal profession (LA Times, 22 May 2025)
- E. Volokh, "AI Hallucination Cases," from Courts All Over the World (Volokh Conspiracy, 18 May 2025)
- J-.M. Manach, "Il génère des plaidoiries par IA, et en recense 160 ayant « halluciné » depuis 2023" (Next, 1 July 2025)
- J. Koebler & J. Roscoe, "18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It (404 Media, 30 September 2025)
If you know of a case that should be included, feel free to contact me.3 (Readers may also be interested in this project regarding AI use in academic papers.)
Based on this database, I have developped an automated reference checker that also detects hallucinations: PelAIkan. Check the Reports
in the database for examples, and reach out to me for a demo !
For weekly takes on cases like these, and what they mean for legal practice, subscribe to Artificial Authority.
| Case | Court / Jurisdiction | Date ▼ | Party Using AI | AI Tool ⓘ | Nature of Hallucination | Outcome / Sanction | Monetary Penalty | Details | Report(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting v. City of Athens, Tenn. | CA Sixth Circuit (USA) | 13 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1),
Legal Norm
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2),
Exhibits or Submissions
(1)
|
Adverse Costs Order; Monetary Sanction; Potential disciplinary proceedings | 30000 USD | — | |
|
Source: Volokh
|
|||||||||
| In re Scott Mitchell Obeginski | CA Texas (9th) (USA) | 12 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to attach copies of cited authorities affirmed | — | — | |
|
Source: Volokh
|
|||||||||
| Suiter v. GM - General Motors, LLC | W.D. Virginia (USA) | 12 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Hartmann v. Davidson | N.D. Texas (USA) | 12 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
— | — | ||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Bolden v. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co (In re: Eric Chibueze Nwaubani) | CA Fourth Circuit (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Public admonishment | — | — | |
|
Source: Volokh
|
|||||||||
| Kamal v Tax Policy Associates | High Court (UK) | 11 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Partial strike-out, summary judgment for the defendants | — | — | |
| Checks Aciek Ateny Nai v. National Asset Mortgage, LLC, et al. | W.D. Michigan (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Legal Norm
(2)
|
Order to Show Cause satisfied; court declined to impose Rule 11 sanctions. | — | — | |
| Donte McClellon v. E. Rickard, Warden of FCI Otisville, et al. | S.D. New York (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Samantha Roussell v. The Bank of New York Mellon | CA Florida (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Kateryna Maslovska v. Ekaterina Shigabetdinova | AC Illinois (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning (both parties) | — | — | |
|
Appellate court found briefs from the parties contained six AI-style citations (four from defendant, two from plaintiff) that either did not exist or did not support the propositions for which they were cited. The court cautioned compliance with the Illinois Supreme Court Policy on AI but imposed no sanctions and affirmed the judgment due to an inadequate record on appeal. |
|||||||||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Dillon v. Myles Stephenson, et al. | W.D. Oklahoma (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
| Traver v. General Motors Financial Company Inc., et al. | D. Massachusetts (USA) | 11 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Kapahi Real Estate Inc. v. Elite Real Estate Club of Toronto Inc. | Ontario SCJ (Canada) | 10 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(7)
|
Bar Referral | — | — | |
| Hunter v. TForce Freight Incorporated | D. Arizona (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied | — | Warning | — | — | |
| Brown v. State of Mississippi | CA Mississippi (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| In re A.R. and N.R., Minors | AC Illinois (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Tina Rose v. City of West Frankfort et al. | S.D. Illinois (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | ChatGPT | — | Warning | — | — | |
| Helen Allen v. Cass Casper and Disparti Law Group | N.D. Illinois (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
Monetary Sanction | 1500 USD | — | |
| United States of America v. Lorenzio Reshaud Simmons | E.D. North Carolina (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(3)
|
Warning; Allowed to file corrected brief | — | — | |
| Michael Platt v. Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana | S.D. Indiana (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Brief Struck, Warning | — | — | |
| Cartagena v. Dixon, Blackburn, and T.A. Blackburn Law, PLLC | S.D. New York (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Lawyer | Protégé (LexisNexis) |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
| Arno Kuigoua v. Adam Michael Sacks | CA California (2nd) (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| A.K. v. M.R. | CA Indiana (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Slay v. Ross | CA Georgia (USA) | 9 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(4)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| M7 Indústria e Comércio de Compensados e Laminados v. U.S. Structural Plywood Integrity Coalition, et al. | S.D. New York (USA) | 9 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
|
Order to show cause | — | — | |
|
The Court found two quotations in the Plaintiffs' memorandum that do not appear in the cited federal opinions and ordered counsel to explain and certify review of all cited cases before deciding whether to impose further sanctions. |
|||||||||
| Kim Elizabeth Harwell v. WestCare Nevada, Inc. | D. Nevada (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | ChatGPT |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Kattom v. Bondi | W.D. Louisiana (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Lawyer | ChatGPT |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Monetary sanction | 1000 USD | — | |
| Hatch v. College Ave Student Loans | N.D. Illinois (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Zack Jones v. Target Corporation | D. Oregon (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Recommended granting terminating sanctions and dismissal of the case | — | — | |
|
Recommendations are here, and were later adopted. |
|||||||||
| Andre Lamont Goddard, Jr. v. City University of Seattle | D. District of Columbia (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(5)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Dewayne Clark v. CoreCivic | W.D. Oklahoma (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
| Sai Malena Jimenez-Fogarty v. Thomas Fogarty | S.D. New York (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Hallucination treated it as non-existent | — | — | |
| Gregory J. Van Etten v. Stephanie K. Fattman, et al. | D. Massachusetts (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
other
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1),
Legal Norm
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Warning |
|||||||||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Nelson Lin v. The Honorable Jonathan H. Shim, et al. | S.D. New York (USA) | 6 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
— | — | ||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Joan Pablo Torres Campos v. Leslie Ann Munoz | CA California (USA) | 5 March 2026 | Lawyer, Judge | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Monetary sanction; Bar referral | 5000 USD | — | |
|
Source: Robert Freund
|
|||||||||
| In the Matter of the Estate of Kuerschner | CA Arizona (USA) | 5 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2)
|
Adverse Costs Order | 1 | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Lawand Hill v. Sloppy Vinyl, LLC, et al. | D. New Jersey (USA) | 5 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(3)
|
Motion to dismiss granted; warning | — | — | |
| Oberoi v. Douglas | CA Victoria (Australia) | 5 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Bar referral | — | — | |
| Medal v. Amazon.com Services, LLC | W.D. Washington (USA) | 4 March 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Legal Norm
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Ryan Adam Dixon v. MultiCare Health System | W.D. Washington (USA) | 4 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2),
Legal Norm
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Jeri'yah Ford v. Troy City School District, et al. | N.D. New York (USA) | 4 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| In the Matter of the Estate of CAROL M. CAREY | CA Washington (USA) | 3 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(4)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2)
|
Adverse Costs Order | 1 USD | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| In re Lusine Hakhverdyan | C.D. California (Bankruptcy) (USA) | 3 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
— | — | ||
| Derence V. Fivehouse v. United States Department of Defense et al. | E.D. North Carolina (USA) | 2 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(5),
Legal Norm
(2)
|
Court issued show-cause order and scheduled hearing to determine sanctions; no sanction imposed yet. | — | — | |
|
It was later reported that the prosecutor at stake resigned over the accident. |
|||||||||
| Gregory Hardy v. Whitaker, et al. | E.D. Mich. (Eastern District of Michigan, Northern Division) (USA) | 2 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied | — | Amended Complaint dismissed with prejudice; Plaintiff permanently enjoined from filing new federal actions in the district without leave of court. | — | — | |
|
No AI-generated or fabricated legal citations, false quotations, or misrepresentations of precedent were identified in the court's opinion.
|
|||||||||
| Hardy v. Whitaker | E.D. Michigan (USA) | 2 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(4)
|
Plaintiff's amended complaint dismissed with prejudice | — | — | |
| Put A Bird On It, LLC v. Seattle Arena Holdings, LLC | CA Washington (USA) | 2 March 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
— | — | ||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Fabian Antonio Thomas v. Officer Skylar Sillivent, et al. | E.D. Texas (USA) | 2 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
— | — | ||
| Gummadi Usha Rani & Anr. v. Sure Mallikarjuna Rao & Anr. | Supreme Court (India) | 27 February 2026 | Judge | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(4)
|
— | — | ||
|
Trial Court relied on several judgments in the Advocate Commissioner's Report that the High Court found to be AI‑generated, non‑existent and fake; Supreme Court issued notices, restrained use of the report and directed further examination of consequences and accountability. |
|||||||||
| In the Matter of the Estate of Arturo Lopez | CA Arizona (USA) | 27 February 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |