A Quebec man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife $1,000 after filing court arguments that included fake legal cases generated by ChatGPT. In an Aug. 11 decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal says the man was representing himself in a dispute over the division of assets following his divorce. The court says the man cited four court decisions that did not exist, including two he claimed were from the Supreme Court of Canada. The court says the man learned during a consultation with a lawyer that the cases did not exist, but still filed his arguments without removing them. The judges say the man only explained that the false cases came from ChatGPT after they questioned him during the hearing. The court said knowingly citing fake cases was a serious breach that caused unnecessary work for the court and the man’s ex-wife. The man was ordered to pay $1,000 to compensate his ex-wife for her time and work, on top of the costs of the appeal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2026.
