DC appeals court strikes down Deutsche Bank brief over AI hallucinations

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has struck down an appellate brief submitted by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary, labeling the incident a “cautionary tale about the misuse of artificial intelligence.” A unanimous three-judge panel found that the brief contained multiple citations to nonexistent legal cases.

One attorney admitted that four of the citations were “hallucinated” by Google’s generative AI tool. While the attorney took responsibility, the court ruled that all firm attorneys who signed the brief bear responsibility for the errors. The court noted that while it does not intend to discourage the use of AI, the inclusion of fake citations misdirects the court and wastes judicial resources.