What happened

Attorneys Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster, representing Mike Lindell in a defamation case, filed a legal motion that was generated using AI tools and contained over 30 errors, including citations to non-existent cases and misquotes of legal principles, thereby violating court rules and US federal civil procedure. 

Judge Nina Wang ruled that the USD 3,000 fines per lawyer were the “least severe sanction” sufficient to both punish and deter this conduct. 

Why it happened

Whilst defending Lindell in a defamation lawsuit brought forth by former Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coome, the two lawyers used generative AI to cut their own costs, but failed to verify the output of the system. 

The jury found Lindell liable for false claims about the 2020 US Presidential election.

Under questioning, they acknowledged using AI and failed to provide a credible explanation for not checking or correcting the errors before submission - reflecting a lack of due diligence in legal practice and a breakdown in transparency, as the errors were only admitted after the court’s intervention.

The lawyers claimed they accidentally submitted an earlier draft of the filing in which the mistakes had not yet been corrected.

They also admitted to not informing their client of their use of AI in the preparation of his case.