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ARTICLE · 27 MAY 2025

Lawyer Escapes Contempt Consequences After Using AI-generated Case Law (Ko v. Li)

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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In a follow up to the decision we discussed in Factum containing fake case law likely generated by AI submitted in Ontario litigation (Ko v. Li)...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James R.G. Cook
James R.G. Cook
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In a follow up to the decision we discussed in Factum containing fake case law likely generated by AI submitted in Ontario litigation (Ko v. Li), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declined to order any sanctions against a lawyer who had submitted fake case law to the court that had been generated by AI on the basis that she had already gained notoriety from the widespread publication of reports concerning the show cause order in both the legal and the general press: Ko v. Li, 2025 ONSC 2965 (CanLII).

In the motion proceedings leading to the decision, the lawyer had delivered a factum containing submissions to the court concerning the law that applied to the issues in dispute. The factum referred to several non-existent or fake precedent court cases that were then relied upon in oral argument in open court. The lawyer was unable to advise whether the factum had been prepared using generative AI.

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