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Sanctions watch

Every incident where a lawyer got caught filing AI-fabricated citations. The Hall of Shame.

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857
Incidents tracked
266
Incidents in 2026
$2,397,608
In fines, where reported
212 of 857 report an amount

The curve

Incidents per month

Last 18 months of published incidents, by the date of the court's order.

Apr 2025 Sep 2026

Charting 452 of 857 incidents; the rest are undated or fall outside this window.

Blamed by name

ChatGPT 147 Claude 9 CoCounsel 8 Copilot 8 Gemini 8 Lexis+ AI 6 AI-assisted legal software 4 Westlaw Precision 4 ChatGPT-4o 2 ChatOn 2 Eve 2 Google AI 2 LEAP 2 Perplexity AI 2 AI Overviews 1 Archie 1 Centient AI 1 ChatGPT-4 1 ClearBrief 1 CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, Google Gem 1 Descrybe.ai 1 First Drafts 1 GPT-3.5 1 Ghostwriter Legal 1 Google Scholar 1 Grammarly 1 Grok 1 Irys 1 Legal Genius 1 LegalAI 1 MX2.law 1 OpenCase 1 Strongsuit 1 vLex Fastcase 1

Counts only incidents where the filing court or the reporting named the tool.

Hall of Shame

All Fined 249 Caught, not sanctioned 198 Warned 124 Referred to the bar 101 Reprimanded 86 Outcome unclear 57 Filing dismissed 39 Suspension 2 Upcoming sanction 1
Fined $500 ChatGPT
The plaintiff filed AI-prepared pleadings with fictitious legal authorities and was ordered to pay $500 in compensation.
Kalala c. Coopérative d'habitation La Fraternité Micheloise · Superior Court of Québec
lazaruslegal.com ↗
The file →
  • Kalala c. Coopérative d'habitation La Fraternité Micheloise; the plaintiff
  • The pleadings contained fictitious authorities and wrong Civil Code provisions
  • Monetary sanction of $500 in compensation
  • Superior Court of Québec
  • 2025; the plaintiff acknowledged using ChatGPT
Fined $750
A party filed AI-assisted pleadings containing fictitious legal authorities, and the court ordered that party to pay $750.
Bourse de l’Immobilier Multilogements inc. c. Lanthier · Superior Court of Québec
lazaruslegal.com ↗
The file →
  • Bourse de l’Immobilier Multilogements inc. c. Lanthier; the party
  • AI-assisted pleadings contained fictitious legal authorities
  • Monetary sanction of $750
  • Superior Court of Québec
  • 2025; the court said fabricated authorities are a serious procedural breach
Warned Copilot 2026-08-01
Paul Held cited fake cases in court papers, and the South Carolina bankruptcy court ordered him to complete continuing legal education, including AI ethics training.
In re Richburg · Paul Held · South Carolina bankruptcy court · SC
““for his blind reliance on a technological tool which he did not seem to fully understand.””
news.bloomberglaw.com ↗
The file →
  • In re Richburg; solo practitioner in South Carolina
  • He used Microsoft CoPilot to find cases and filed them without checking they existed
  • No monetary sanctions; the court required AI-ethics CLE
  • Bankruptcy court in South Carolina
  • Date not given; court called it a lesson learned for the bar in general
Fined $2K ChatGPT 2026-07-31
Attorney Ian G. Gottlieb and his firm, GLG Law, LLC, filed applications for certification to appeal and subsequent briefs containing hallucinated case citations generated by ChatGPT.
TOV Realty, LLC v. Suarez / Kosel Equity, LLC v. MacGregor, 355 Conn. 902 (2026) · Ian G. Gottlieb; GLG Law LLC · Connecticut Supreme Court · CT
“Attorney Gottlieb did not have a dishonest or selfish motive, he cooperated with the disciplinary process by honestly and forthrightly responding to our requests seeking further information and understanding regarding the erroneous citations, he admitted his mistake, he showed sincere contrition, and he has no disciplinary history.”

Cases that don't exist

  • Tov Realty, LLC v. Suarez, 355 Conn. 902 (2026)
  • Kosel Equity v. MacGregor
law360.com ↗
The file →
  • Attorney Ian G. Gottlieb and his firm, GLG Law, LLC, were involved in the cases Tov Realty, LLC v. Suarez and Kosel Equity v. MacGregor.
  • They filed applications for certification to appeal and briefs that contained approximately seven erroneous or unverified citations generated by ChatGPT.
  • Sanctions imposed included 6 additional CLE hours, a $1,000 donation each to the CT Bar Institute, and a compliance report to the Appellate Clerk.
  • The incident occurred in Connecticut's state court system.
  • The court also used the opinion to flag Connecticut’s newly adopted practice rules requiring independent verification of any AI-generated citations or authorities in court filings.
Fined $1K 2026-07-31
The court imposed a $1,000 monetary sanction after finding counsel filed an objection containing 11 fabricated AI-generated case citations.
Matter of Mendel S. v Faigy S. · Family Court New York · NY
“The Court finds counsel's conduct was frivolous given that he filed an Objection with the Court that repeatedly cited fictitious cases and authorities which did ...”
law.justia.com ↗
The file →
  • Mendel S. v. Faigy S. involving an unnamed lawyer
  • 11 of 16 cited authorities were fabricated AI-generated cases
  • Monetary sanction of $1,000 imposed by the court
  • Family Court, New York State
  • Sanctioned on July 31, 2026; court declined bar referral due to remorse
Referred to the bar 2026-07-31
An acting judge cited fabricated AI legal references in a judgment, leading the appeal court to refer the matter to the Legal Practice Council.
FJL v TGO · Gauteng Division, Johannesburg
gittins.co.za ↗
The file →
  • Case FJL v TGO involved an acting judge relying on fake citations.
  • Opperman J found 11 discrepancies including a non-existent case likely caused by AI hallucination.
  • The court referred the matter to the Legal Practice Council for investigation.
  • Gauteng Division, Johannesburg in South Africa.
  • Decision delivered on July 31, 2026; counsel did not supply the fake citations.
Fined $500 2026-07-30
Dean Kajioka filed a habeas reply with a hallucinated citation; Judge Monica Trujillo struck the document and imposed $500 in sanctions.
Robert Schwieger · Dean Kajioka · Regional Justice Center; District Judge Monica Trujillo · NV
“AI was misused”

Cases that don't exist

  • Evans v. State, 123 Nev. 117, 159 P.3d 438 (2007)
govtech.com ↗
The file →
  • Dean Kajioka represented Robert Schwieger in the Piero’s bombing case.
  • Prosecutors said his reply brief was largely created using AI and cited a nonexistent case.
  • They sought sanctions and to strike the brief.
  • The matter was in Nevada state court before District Judge Monica Trujillo.
  • The article says the filing cited 'Evans v. State, 123 Nev. 117, 159 P.3d 438 (2007),' which prosecutors could not find.

Showing 381–390 of 857.

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