The record

Where automated decisions went wrong

Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.

Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.

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68 incidents closest to “Protégé Legal AI” · matched on meaning · public reporting

WF-XI40RM16 May 2021

FACIL'iti sues accessibility consultant Julie Moynat over critical tweet

In November 2020, Julie Moynat, a web accessibility consultant, tweeted criticism of FACIL'iti, an accessibility product. FACIL'iti sent a formal notice to her employer and later subpoenaed her for denigration in May 2021. Moynat is raising funds for her legal defense. The case is ongoing at the Judiciary Tribunal of Paris.

Company involved
FACIL'iti
AI system involved
FACIL'iti

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Attorney Sanctioned $2,500 for AI-Hallucinated Citations in Brief

Heather Hersh, an appellate attorney, used generative AI to draft a reply brief in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case. The brief contained multiple fabricated legal quotations and inaccurate assertions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Hersh failed to verify the AI-generated content and was not candid about her use of AI, imposing a $2,500 monetary sanction under FRAP 46(c) and inherent authority. The court emphasised that attorneys must verify AI outputs and remain honest with the court.

AI system involved
Casetext / vLex

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Arizona court sanctions litigant for AI-hallucinated legal citations

Jeffrey Kotchka, representing himself in a probate appeal, used generative AI to draft his legal brief and submitted it without verifying the citations. The Arizona Court of Appeals found that six of eight citations were deficient, including two that referred to non-existent cases. The court sanctioned Kotchka by ordering him to pay the opposing party's attorney's fees incurred in addressing the fake citations, ruling that citing hallucinated cases is sanctionable regardless of intent. The court acknowledged AI's potential to assist self-represented litigants but emphasised the duty to verify all citations.

1 source article · read the reporting →

AI chatbots found giving inaccurate financial advice to UK consumers

A Which? study tested AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Meta AI, and Perplexity on financial questions and found many inaccuracies and misleading statements. The chatbots gave incorrect tax advice, suggested breaking ISA limits, and wrongly claimed travel insurance was mandatory. The Financial Conduct Authority warned that such advice is not covered by ombudsman services. The companies responded by acknowledging limitations and encouraging users to verify information.

Company involved
Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Perplexity
AI system involved
Meta AI, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-UTVPBM1 May 2023

Colorado lawyer suspended for using ChatGPT to draft motion with fictitious cases

Zachariah Crabill, a Colorado lawyer, used ChatGPT to draft a legal motion in May 2023, citing case law that the AI had fabricated. He did not alert the court to the inaccuracies and initially blamed a legal intern. A judge suspended him for one year and one day for violating professional conduct rules, with the possibility of reducing the suspension after 90 days and two years of probation.

AI system involved
ChatGPT

4 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-CXTTFY3 Apr 2025

Barrister and solicitors fined for citing AI-generated fake cases in court

In the case of R (Ayinde) v Haringey, a barrister and solicitors for the claimant cited five fake cases in judicial review grounds. The judge found that the lawyers had misled the court and made wasted costs orders of £2,000 each against the barrister and the solicitors. The article suggests the fake cases may have been generated by an AI bot, and the lawyers failed to verify them.

Company involved
Haringey Law Centre

5 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-EV7HJY1 Mar 2024

Fake AI law firm sends DMCA threats for SEO backlinks

Ernie Smith, writer of the Tedium newsletter, received a DMCA copyright notice from 'Commonwealth Legal', a firm that appears to be entirely fabricated using AI-generated images and text. The notice demanded he add a backlink to the gadget review site Tech4Gods for a keyfob photo legitimately sourced from Unsplash. The scheme is designed to generate fake SEO gains through backlinks, and Smith did not receive any follow-up after the stated deadline.

Company involved
Commonwealth Legal
AI system involved
Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model

1 source article · read the reporting →

New York City's AI Chatbot Gives Illegal Advice to Businesses

New York City's Microsoft-powered AI chatbot, a pilot program by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, was found to be providing false and illegal business advice. Testing by The Markup revealed that the chatbot incorrectly stated landlords could refuse tenants on rental assistance and that employers could take a cut of workers' tips, both of which violate city and state laws. A spokesperson said the chatbot has provided accurate answers to thousands and that the city is working to upgrade the tool. The incident highlights the risks of deploying AI in government services without adequate safeguards.

Company involved
New York City Office of Technology and Innovation

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-H1SBJN10 Feb 2026

Canary Islands court fines lawyer for AI-generated false case citations

The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands fined a lawyer €420 for including 48 false case citations generated by a general-purpose AI tool in an appeal brief. The court found the lawyer failed to verify the citations against official databases, breaching the duty of veracity and good faith. The lawyer admitted the facts and expressed remorse, leading to a reduced fine. The court also referred the matter to the local bar association for possible disciplinary action.

Company involved
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Canarias

4 source articles · read the reporting →

Morgan & Morgan lawyers cite fictional cases generated by AI chatbot

Lawyers at Morgan & Morgan filed a legal brief in a case against Walmart that cited nine cases, eight of which were entirely fictional. The firm admitted that an AI chatbot had generated the non-existent cases. Morgan & Morgan apologised for the error.

Company involved
Morgan & Morgan

10 source articles · read the reporting →

Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity AI for copyright infringement

Chicago Tribune Company, LLC filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, Inc. in the Southern District of New York on December 4, 2025. The complaint alleges copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501. The case is assigned to Judge Loretta A. Preska.

Company involved
Perplexity AI, Inc.

5 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-NI986730 Jun 2025

Woody Nora v. M & A Transport, Inc., et al. (E.D. Louisiana): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Sanction; 1…

The AI tool generated fictitious case law citations that were included in a court filing, affecting the plaintiff and the court.

AI system involved
Westlaw Precision

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-VBDC859 Apr 2026

Sullivan & Cromwell apologises for AI hallucinations in court filing

Sullivan & Cromwell, an elite Wall Street law firm, used an AI tool to help draft a court filing in the Prince Group case. The filing contained inaccurate citations and misquoted the US bankruptcy code due to AI hallucinations. The errors were uncovered by opposing counsel Boies Schiller Flexner, and the firm apologised to the judge and filed a corrected version. The firm stated that its AI policies were not followed and its review process failed to catch the mistakes.

Company involved
Sullivan & Cromwell

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-VEH8PJ1 Jan 2024

Nippon Life Sues OpenAI Alleging ChatGPT Engaged in Unauthorized Practice of Law

Nippon Life Insurance Company of America filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT acted as an unlicensed attorney by advising a former disability claimant to reopen a settled case and drafting dozens of meritless motions. The insurer claims the AI's actions constitute unauthorized practice of law under Illinois statute and seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages. OpenAI has denied the allegations, calling the complaint meritless. The case is pending in federal court in Chicago.

Company involved
OpenAI
AI system involved
ChatGPT

2 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-X9CY4J4 Jun 2025

Argentine judge's sentence annulled after ChatGPT use revealed by copy-paste phrase

A criminal court in Esquel, Chubut, Argentina, annulled a sentence after discovering that Judge Carlos Rogelio Richeri had used ChatGPT to draft the decision. The judge accidentally left in the phrase 'Aquí tienes el punto IV reeditado, sin citas y listo para copiar y pegar,' revealing the AI's involvement. The appeals court ruled that delegating the judicial decision to AI violated the principle of a natural judge and ordered a new trial with a different judge, while the Superior Tribunal of Justice will investigate the judge's ethical lapse.

Company involved
Juzgado Penal de Esquel
AI system involved
ChatGPT

3 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-CKAGAU15 Oct 2025

Yasiel Puig Valdes v. All3Media America, LLC, et al. (SCA California (Los Angeles)): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Referral

The AI generated fake legal citations that were included in a court filing, potentially harming the plaintiff's case.

AI system involved
ChatGPT

1 source article · read the reporting →

Finnish recruitment company Digital Minds used AI to analyze job applicants' messages, prompting data protection investigation

Digital Minds, a Finnish recruitment company founded by psychologists, used IBM Watson AI to analyze job applicants' social media and email messages for personality assessments. The company obtained written consent but the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman launched an investigation, suspecting violations of data protection laws and the secrecy of correspondence. The service was used on fewer than ten applicants and has been paused pending the investigation.

Company involved
Digital Minds
AI system involved
IBM Watson

9 source articles · read the reporting →

Momus Analytics' jury-selection algorithm criticised for racial bias

Momus Analytics, a legal technology company, uses machine learning to rank potential jurors for attorneys. Experts and researchers who reviewed the company's patent application say the algorithm relies on demographic characteristics such as race, which may violate constitutional prohibitions against discriminatory jury selection. The company claims its software has helped secure verdicts worth over $940 million, but did not respond to requests for comment.

Company involved
Momus Analytics
AI system involved
Momus

9 source articles · read the reporting →

WF-JR9HJC18 Feb 2025

Unnamed Brazilian litigant (): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Appeal partially granted (reintegration suspended, rent imposed), but

AI-generated fake court precedents were included in a legal appeal, leading to sanctions against the litigant for bad-faith litigation.

AI system involved
ChatGPT

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-DLCQWL4 Nov 2024

CanLII sues Caseway AI for scraping legal database

The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) has filed a lawsuit in British Columbia Supreme Court against Caseway AI, alleging that the company's AI chatbot scraped approximately 3.5 million records from CanLII's database in bulk, violating its terms of service and copyright. CanLII claims it adds value to public court records through hyperlinks and corrections, which it says constitute protected copyrighted work. Caseway AI argues the information is public and accessible elsewhere, and that it did not use CanLII's enhancements. The lawsuit was settled in March 2026, with terms undisclosed.

Company involved
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII)
AI system involved
Caseway

5 source articles · read the reporting →

TOV Realty, LLC v. Suarez; Kosel Equity, LLC v. MacGregor (SC Connecticut): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, 6 hours CLE;…

The AI generated legal briefs containing fabricated citations, which were submitted to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Company involved
GLG Law LLC
AI system involved
ChatGPT

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-QJLLJJ14 Jul 2026

In re Rosslyn2016, LLC, et al. (S.D. Texas (Bankruptcy)): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, CLE on generative AI; Civil Contempt;…

The AI generated fabricated legal citations that were submitted to the bankruptcy court.

1 source article · read the reporting →

WF-G32OV813 Nov 2023

Brazilian judge investigated for AI-generated ruling errors

Brazilian authorities are investigating federal judge Jefferson Rodrigues after he published a ruling that contained incorrect legal citations and precedents, which he attributed to the use of AI tool ChatGPT. The National Justice Council summoned the judge to explain the errors, which included wrongly attributing past decisions to the Superior Court of Justice. Rodrigues described the mistakes as a "mere mistake" caused by work overload. This is reported as the first such case in Brazil.

Company involved
Federal judiciary of Brazil
AI system involved
ChatGPT

8 source articles · read the reporting →

BC Tribunal Confirms Companies Remain Liable for AI Chatbot-Created Information - Lexology

The AI chatbot provided inaccurate information to a user.

1 source article · read the reporting →

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