Sabatini Law Firm AI failures

The 11th Circuit referred Anthony Sabatini for replacing eight hallucinated cases with eight more

On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit published Estate of Lane Caviness v. Atlas Air (No. 24-11033), reprimanding Florida lawyer and Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini for briefs 'replete with fake and hallucinated citations.' His opening brief relied on at least eight nonexistent cases, including one supposedly decided by the Eleventh Circuit itself. After opposing counsel flagged them, Sabatini filed an untimely reply withdrawing eight cases, and none matched the original eight, and all eight replacements were also fabricated. Judge Britt Grant wrote that 'whatever the merits of artificial intelligence, it is no substitute for actual intelligence' and referred Sabatini to the court's Committee on Lawyer Qualifications and Conduct.

Confidence

High (multi-source, primary)