Fake AI citations cost two lawyers $110,000 and sink a $12M suit

A woman sued her two brothers in Oregon federal court over the family winery, seeking $12 million. Over five months, her lawyers filed three summary judgment briefs. They cited 15 cases that do not exist and eight quotations that real opinions never contained. After the other side flagged the errors, the lead lawyer stripped them out and refiled, which the judge called an attempted cover-up. On December 12, 2025, Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke struck the briefs and dismissed the case with prejudice. He called it "a notorious outlier in both degree and volume." The lead lawyer owes a $15,500 fine and about $80,000 of the brothers' legal fees. Local counsel owes about $14,000 more.