Two lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have been fined $3,000 each for filing a court document that contained numerous errors, including citations of nonexistent cases, after using artificial intelligence to draft it. The ruling was made by federal judge Nina Wang in the US District Court in Denver, Colorado.
The motion, filed in a defamation case against Lindell, cited almost 30 inaccurate precedents and misquoted case law. Judge Wang stated in her ruling that the fines were “the least severe sanction adequate to deter and punish defense counsel in this instance.”
Attorney Christopher Kachouroff admitted during a pretrial hearing that he had used AI to write the motion, though he claimed it was a draft filed by accident. However, the judge noted that even the corrected version contained substantive errors. She highlighted that the lawyers provided no explanation for the false citations beyond the use of generative AI or gross carelessness.
The case involved a defamation claim by Eric Coomer, a former director at Dominion Voting Systems, who alleged that Lindell falsely accused him of rigging the 2020 presidential election. A federal jury recently found Lindell liable and ordered him to pay $2.3 million in damages, far less than the $62.7 million sought by Coomer.
Judge Wang also dismissed suggestions from Kachouroff that the court was trying to “blindside” him over the errors, calling the accusation “troubling and not well-taken.” The lawyers have been contacted for comment.
