From Jarrus v. Governor, decided yesterday by Judge F. Kay Behm (E.D. Mich.):
The court is cognizant that imposing a monetary sanction on plaintiffs who qualify for IFP status [based on inability to pay filing fees -EV] may be ineffective. However, the court also ordered Plaintiffs to explain how much, per month, they spend on "AI" subscriptions per month. Plaintiff Michael Jarrus explained that he pays approximately $20 per month in a subscription to "ChatGPT Plus." Over the course of 12 months, the evidence suggests that Plaintiff Michael Jarrus is at least able to afford a Chat GPT subscription of about $240. Absent proof that a monetary sanction will prove impossible to pay, the court will enter sanctions sufficient to deter similar conduct in the future….
Consistent with Magistrate Judge Patti's warning that each AI citation might incur a cost of $200 per citation, the court adopts that amount and imposes a fine of $300 per Plaintiff (a total of $600) for three misrepresented, AI-generated citations. Each Plaintiff [Michael Jarrus and his mother] shall, individually, be responsible for paying $300. These fines are due to the Clerk of Court and shall be paid in full by February 2, 2026. Failure to pay these amounts may result in dismissal of this action in its entirety or, if one Plaintiff pays their fine but not the other, of the nonpaying Plaintiff's claims for failure to comply….
If Plaintiffs file any future briefing in this case with even a single misrepresented, misquoted, or fictitious case that is caused by the use of generative "AI", this court will strongly consider any recommendation to dismiss this case for bad faith failure to comply with court orders, or revocation of Plaintiffs' IFP status, or in the alternative, it would not be clearly erroneous for the Magistrate Judge to strike or otherwise refuse to consider the merits of an entire briefing for the inclusion of a misrepresented, misquoted, or fictitious case.
More on the circumstances that led the court to be especially exercised here:
