New York / Citation decisions
Michaelis v Wilmington Sav. Fund Socy., FSB
Sup. Ct., Dutchess County
2026 NY Slip Op 26048
What happened
On a self-represented plaintiff’s motion for renewal, Supreme Court, Dutchess County, found hallucinations affecting virtually every legal citation in the supporting affirmation. The plaintiff had also omitted the certification concerning generative AI required by the court’s part rules.
The court explained that it would ordinarily deny such a motion without prejudice for the missing certification and evidence of unreviewed GenAI use. Here, the renewal question depended on the asserted new facts rather than the hallucinated authorities, so the court addressed the merits. It denied renewal because the plaintiff had not reasonably justified the failure to present the material earlier, and denied the requested vacatur relief. This was not a monetary-sanctions decision.
Sanction or disposition
No monetary sanction. The requested renewal and vacatur relief was denied on the grounds discussed in the opinion.
From the opinion
“These types of hallucinations affect virtually every legal citation that appears in plaintiff’s affirmation.”