AI failures · Fabricated content
Gauthier v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. — E.D. Texas Sanctions Lawyer for AI-Generated Nonexistent Cases and Quotations
Verified Checked against its sources on 2 sources quoted
- Where it happened
- Texas, United States
- Organization
- The Monk Law Firm (plaintiff's counsel)
- Date
- November 25, 2024 (sanctions order); brief filed October 2, 2024
- Function
- Legal
- Where it happened
- Legal research; appellate brief drafting
- System
- Claude (generative AI drafting tool), per counsel's statement in the order; a Lexis AI feature was used to check it and did not flag the errors
- Technology
- Generative AI
- Type of failure
- Fabricated content
- Caught by
- The opposing party, A court
Summary
In a wrongful-termination suit against Goodyear in the Eastern District of Texas, plaintiff's counsel filed a summary-judgment response that cited two cases that do not exist and quotations that could not be found in the authorities cited. Goodyear pointed this out in its reply, but counsel did not correct the brief until the court ordered him to show cause. At the hearing he said he had drafted with a generative AI tool and had not verified the output. On November 25, 2024, Judge Marcia Crone imposed a $2,000 penalty, required a CLE course on generative AI, and required him to give the order to his client.
Consequence
- $2,000 penalty paid into the court registry, mandatory one-hour CLE on generative AI, and a requirement to give the order to the client.
Who caught it The opposing party, A courtFound outside the organization
Analysis
What could have been done
Checking AI output against its sources
Every factual element of AI output (citations, figures, quotations) is checked against its source before reliance.
Counsel drafted the summary-judgment response with a generative AI tool and did not verify it; the response cited two cases that do not exist and quotations that could not be found in the authorities cited.
A review that can actually catch the error
The reviewer has the time, information and expertise to catch the error, not only to sign off.
The only check described was a second AI feature, which did not flag the non-existent cases or quotations, so the review step could not catch this error.
Error rates, overrides, complaints and drift are monitored, with thresholds that trigger escalation.
Opposing counsel pointed out the non-existent authorities in its reply, but the brief was not corrected until the court ordered counsel to show cause.
What would likely have prevented it
- Verify quotations as well as case names: open each cited authority and find the quoted words in it before filing.
- Do not let one AI tool serve as the check on another's drafting; establish what any checking tool can and cannot detect, and keep a source check by a person for citations and quotations.
What would likely have caught it earlier
- Treat an opposing party's statement that an authority does not exist as a trigger to re-check the whole filing and correct it promptly, rather than waiting for a court order.
Key dates
- November 25, 2024Event
- October 16, 2026Checked against sources
- October 18, 2026Checked against sources
- October 21, 2026Checked against sources
Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: October 16, 2027.
Evidence
Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.
-
As observed by Goodyear in its reply (#42), Monk's Response cites two cases that do not exist.
Supports: parties, court, nonexistent cases, caught by opposing party
-
Crone ordered Beaumont, Texas, lawyer Brandon Monk to pay a $2,000 penalty to the registry of the court and required that he complete a continuing legal education course on the topic of generative AI.
Supports: sanction amount and CLE requirement
Suggested citation. Eminence Scan, “Gauthier v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. — E.D. Texas Sanctions Lawyer for AI-Generated Nonexistent Cases and Quotations”, Eminence Growth Solutions, last verified October 16, 2026, https://eminencegrowthsolutions.com/tools/eminence-scan/record/fail-006/.
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