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Mutant / Synthetic Citation

🚧 Under Construction

This entry is a placeholder. I am currently cataloguing both the fake citations that are shown in real cases and the citation graph of real AI hallucination cases. The canonical write-up is still in progress and is currently incomplete, with stub articles generated from the data in the Interactive Map of AI Hallucination Sanctions Cases. Please don't treat it as final or authoritative yet.

Definition​

Why it matters​

Worked examples​

Cases with examples of this failure mode​

  • Ruggirello v. Lancaster (E.D. Mich., 2023) — 1 instance
  • Zeng v. Chell (S.D.N.Y., 2024) — 4 instances
    • Clavizzao v. United States, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123456 (S.D.N.Y. July 15, 2023)
    • Cody v. Hillard, 139 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 1998)
    • Saunders v. Christian, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35891 (S.D.N.Y. May 16, 2007)
    • Johnson v. Corr. Dep't, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45678 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 20, 2021)
  • Plumbers' Local No. 75 v. Morris Plumbing (E.D. Wisc., 2024) — 1 instance
    • Casserole Tech Corp. v. Caserage Labs, Inc., 972 F.3d 799, 803 (7th Cir. 1992)
  • Postma v. York (Iowa (State Court), 2025) — 4 instances
    • Midwest Recovery Servs. v. Cooperatives Ins. Co., 785 N.W.2d 169 (Iowa Ct. App. 2010)
    • Hickman v. Sacred Heart Corp., 653 N.W.2d 522, 532 (Iowa 2002)
    • Kellogg v. Iowa State Bank of Wapello, 189 N.W.2d 354, 361 (Iowa 1971)
    • Niemann v. Breen, 641 N.W.2d 146, 150 (Iowa Ct. App. 2002)
  • Garner v. Kadince (Utah Court of Appeals, 2025) — 1 instance
  • Concord v. Anthropic (N.D. Cal., 2025) — 3 instances
  • Kohls v. Ellison (D. Minn., 2025) — 1 instance
  • Windham renovation dispute (NH) (New Hampshire Superior Court, 2025) — 1 instance

See also​