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 (98 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)
Based on this database, I have developed 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song Dow Lee, et al. v. HSBC Bank USA, National Association, et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 7 May 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Gregoire v. Board of Trustees of SF BART | N.D. California (USA) | 6 May 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Monetary Sanction; Serve Order on client and Bar; CLE | 1000 USD | — | |
|
Order to Show Cause is here. Counsel failed to answer. |
|||||||||
|
Source: Robert Freund
|
|||||||||
| In re W.B. | CA California (5d) (USA) | 29 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied | — | Warning | — | — | |
| Anthony C. Hill v. Workday, Inc. (2) | N.D. California (USA) | 28 April 2026 | Lawyer | CoCounsel |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Admonishment; Monetary Fine; 4 hours live CLE; Order Circulation | 1001 USD | — | |
| Tekoma Chaney v. Transdev Services Inc. et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 28 April 2026 | Lawyer | LexisNexis+ (Protégé) |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Monetary Sanction; Reporting to other courts | 2500 USD | — | |
| Louis L. Ligon III v. Meta Platforms, Inc. | N.D. California (USA) | 28 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| O.K., LLC v. Melka | CA California (2d) (USA) | 23 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
— | — | ||
| Krista C. Geddes v. LoanCare, LLC, et al. | E.D. California (USA) | 22 April 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
|
Monetary Sanction; Bar Referral | 1000 USD | — | |
| In re the Marriage of Joanne Rodrigues and Nathan Craig | CA California (6d) (USA) | 22 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(9)
|
— | — | ||
| Robert Harris v. Elementis Specialties, Inc. | C.D. California (USA) | 17 April 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Zand v. Sukumar | CA California (1d) (USA) | 14 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Exhibits or Submissions
(1)
|
— | — | ||
| Michael T-Alexander v. Michelle Baass et al. | CA California (6d) (USA) | 14 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
| Shaw v. City of Portola, et al. | E.D. California (USA) | 14 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(5)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| That Xiong v. Minga Wofford | E.D. California (USA) | 9 April 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Thanh Nguy v. Jabil Inc. | N.D. California (USA) | 7 April 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| James Jordan v. USA, Clinicas Del Camino Real, Inc., et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 6 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
| Gamez v. County of Fresno | E.D. California (USA) | 6 April 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Legal Norm
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Najafpir v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | N.D. California (USA) | 3 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Claim dismissed with prejudice | — | — | |
| Modern Floor Specialists, Inc. et al. v. City of Los Angeles et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 3 April 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Saqib Kafeel v. Apple Inc., et al. | N.D. California (USA) | 1 April 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Leonard Colbert v. County of Riverside | C.D. California (USA) | 31 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1),
Legal Norm
(1)
|
Admonishment | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Jared Ashcraft v. First-Citizens Bank and Trust Company, et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 25 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Dominique Lopez v. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company | N.D. California (USA) | 20 March 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Anna Sheerer v. Thomas Panas | CA California (d1) (USA) | 19 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2),
Exhibits or Submissions
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Meriland Keith Dillard v. CBS Studios, Inc. | C.D. California (USA) | 16 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2),
Exhibits or Submissions
(1)
|
Factor in dismissing with prejudice | — | — | |
| Arno Kuigoua v. Adam Michael Sacks | CA California (2nd) (USA) | 10 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(3)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| 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 re Lusine Hakhverdyan | C.D. California (Bankruptcy) (USA) | 3 March 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
— | — | ||
| Samuel K. v. Winsley Focia | CA California (USA) | 26 February 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1),
other
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Appeal dismissed; appellant to bear her own costs on appeal. | — | — | |
| Estate of Khallid Muhammad et al v. Tupac Shakur Estate et al | C.D. California (USA) | 26 February 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | ||
| Anthony Jama Hall v. Superior Court of Sacramento County | CA California (USA) | 25 February 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1),
Legal Norm
(1),
other
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Juan Villalovos-Gutierrez, et al. v. Gerard Van de Pol, et al. (2) | E.D. California (USA) | 24 February 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Zeus Realty Group LLC v. 1032 N Sycamore Owner LA, LLC et al | C.D. California (USA) | 23 February 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
— | — | ||
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Bixler v. Church of Scientology | CA California (USA) | 19 February 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Order to show cause | — | — | |
| EFD USA, INC., et al. v. Band Pro Film and Digital, Inc., et al. | CA California (USA) | 18 February 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(6)
|
Monetary Sanction | 900 USD | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| Alejandro Rios v. Puente Hills Ford | CA California (USA) | 17 February 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
False Quotes
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction Litigation | N.D. California (USA) | 17 February 2026 | Expert | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Doctrinal Work
(1)
Misrepresented
other
(1)
|
Court declined to exclude the expert based on the AI-generated/incorrect citations; issue reserved for cross-examination; motion to exclude denied. | — | — | |
|
Defendants contended that Dr. Brian Osborne relied on nonexistent academic articles and miscited sources generated by an AI citation tool. Plaintiffs said the errors were formatting miscites from an AI citation tool and were corrected. The Court declined to exclude Osborne's opinions on this basis, permitting defendants to explore the issue on cross-examination and barring any regurgitation of hearsay at trial. |
|||||||||
| Creditors Adjustment Bureau, Inc. v. All Season Power LLC, et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 13 February 2026 | Lawyer | Unidentified |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
False Quotes
Case Law
(3)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Volokh
|
|||||||||
| TQJ, LLC v. Jennifer Esquivel et al. | C.D. California (USA) | 12 February 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(4)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | ||
| Daniel James Cummins v. Moises Becerra | E.D. California (USA) | 9 February 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(5)
|
Order to Show Cause | — | — | |
| Sebastian Rako v. VMware LLC (2) | N.D. California (USA) | 4 February 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Required meet-and-confer for AI-use disputes | — | — | |
| Ava Naeini v. Confluent Inc. | CA California (USA) | 29 January 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
— | — | ||
| MacroCharts Research LLC v. Tony Chou | N.D. California (USA) | 26 January 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Warning | — | — | |
|
Source: Jesse Schaefer
|
|||||||||
| That Xiong v. Minga Wofford | E.D. California (USA) | 22 January 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
Order to inform client and staff of errors | — | — | |
| Hang Zhang v. Daniel Driscoll | N.D. California (USA) | 14 January 2026 | Pro Se Litigant | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(2)
|
Monetary Sanction | 500 USD | — | |
|
Order to Show Cause is here. |
|||||||||
| Lindalbeth Lopez Hernandez v. Leanna Lundy | E.D. California (USA) | 14 January 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
— | — | ||
| (HC) Xiong v. Becerra et al. | E.D. California (USA) | 14 January 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(2)
|
Order to have staff read transcript where issue was discussed | — | — | |
| Kjoller v. California | CA California (USA) | 14 January 2026 | Prosecutor | Implied |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
Misrepresented
Case Law
(1),
Legal Norm
(1)
|
Order to show cause | — | — | |
|
See the story as recounted, e.g., here. |
|||||||||
| Heiting v. I Am Beyond LLC | SC California (USA) | 13 January 2026 | Lawyer | Implied |
False Quotes
Case Law
(2)
|
Warning | — | — | |
| Gharavi v. Google LLC | N.D. California (USA) | 12 January 2026 | Lawyer | Bloomberg Law |
Fabricated
Case Law
(1)
|
Motion for Sanctions denied | — | — | |
|
Rodgers' declaration included a non-existent Wisconsin criminal case citation (reported by Bloomberg Law). Court found the error inadvertent, attributable to reliance on Bloomberg, and denied sanctions because conduct was neither reckless nor in bad faith. |
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