# New York's first appellate AI-sanction: a lawyer who conceded using AI, 23 fabricated cases, and $10,000 in penalties (Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v LeTennier)

> In Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v LeTennier (2026 NY Slip Op 00040), the Appellate Division, Third Department imposed $10,000 in sanctions — $7,500 on appellant's counsel Joshua A. Douglass and $2,500 on the litigant — after briefs cited no less than 23 fabricated cases. Defense counsel conceded at oral argument that he used AI to prepare the papers. The court called it the first appellate-level case in New York addressing sanctions for the misuse of generative AI.

- Verification status: verified
- Case type: deployment
- Provider: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department (Fisher, J.)
- Client: Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v LeTennier — sanctioned: appellant's counsel Joshua A. Douglass, Esq.; defendant-appellant Jean LeTennier, Litigation / legal — AI-fabricated citations (named)
- Sector: legal / US / cross
- Verified on: 2026-08-01
- Canonical URL: https://theinternetninja.com/stories/deutsche-bank-v-letennier-nyad-3d-dept-fisher-10000-ai-fabricated-citations-first-ny-appellate-sanction-2026/
- Source: The Internet Ninja (theinternetninja.com), independent verified-proof platform

## Outcomes

| Metric | Before | After |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $5,000 sanction on counsel Joshua A. Douglass for the fabricated legal authorities |  |  |
| An additional $2,500 on Douglass and $2,500 on the litigant for a frivolous appeal — $7,500 against counsel and $2,500 against the litigant, $10,000 total under 22 NYCRR 130-1.1, payable within 60 days |  |  |
| Counsel conceded using AI; 23 fabricated cases across five filings; recognized as the first NY appellate ruling sanctioning generative-AI misuse |  |  |

## Verification method

Tier-1 primary: official New York State Law Reporting Bureau slip opinion (2026 NY Slip Op 00040), byte-tied (sha1-b32 C4PIZ4VW5LTGUOFMYLYBP2C4O2YVNKJO) to its organic Wayback capture 20260109124129. Two independent secondaries carrying the figures firsthand: NYSBA New York State Law Digest (Feb 2026) and Reason / The Volokh Conspiracy (2026-01-21), each byte-tied to its organic Wayback capture.

## Full case file

## The problem
Deutsche Bank commenced a mortgage-foreclosure action in Delaware County in 2018 after
Jean LeTennier defaulted on a 2006 note. After summary judgment, judgment of foreclosure
and sale, and a string of denied motions, LeTennier — represented by counsel Joshua A.
Douglass but also filing pro se — appealed to the Appellate Division, Third Department.
As the court put it, "the merits of this appeal are unremarkable in nature." Where the
appeal "becomes unconventional, however, is that defendant's opening brief cites six cases
which do not exist." The plaintiff "identified these fabricated cases as possibly being the
product of artificial intelligence (hereinafter AI), and moved for [...] sanctions."

## What was built
Rather than correct the record, the briefs got worse: the appellant "opposed the motion
for sanctions with more fake cases," and "In total, defendant's five filings during this
appeal include no less than 23 fabricated cases, as well as many other blatant
misrepresentations of fact or law from actual cases." At argument, the AI use was conceded
outright: "Defense counsel reluctantly conceded during oral argument that he used AI in the
preparation of his papers and, although he told the Court that he checked his papers, the
filings themselves demonstrate otherwise." The court noted counsel "estimated that 90% of
the citations he used were accurate, which, even if it were true, is simply unacceptable by
any measure of candor to any court." The order names no specific AI product. The panel took
the occasion to state the governing rule: "the use of GenAI in no way abrogates an
attorney's or litigant's obligation to fact check and cite check every document filed with
a court."

## The outcome
"[R]ecognizing this as the first appellate-level case in New York addressing sanctions for
the misuse of GenAI," the court imposed "a monetary sanction on defense counsel Joshua A.
Douglass in the amount of $5,000" for the fabricated authorities, and — finding the appeal
itself frivolous — "an additional sanction of $2,500 [...] on defense counsel Joshua A.
Douglass and $2,500 [...] on defendant Jean LeTennier for pursing this appeal." The decretal
order consolidates this as "sanctions in the amount of $7,500 [...] against defendant's
counsel Joshua A. Douglass and $2,500 [...] against defendant Jean LeTennier pursuant to 22
NYCRR 130-1.1, in each case to be paid within 60 days" — $10,000 in total, with counsel's
share deposited "with the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection." The New York State Bar
Association's New York State Law Digest independently reported the same breakdown: "an
appropriate sanction of $5,000 was merited against defense counsel [...] the court assessed
an additional $2,500 sanction against defense counsel and $2,500 against the defendant."

## Path to green
This is a court-adjudicated public record; the green badge requires human confirmation that
the $10,000 in sanctions (2026 NY Slip Op 00040, CV-23-0713) was paid within the 60-day
window and not later modified, vacated, or reversed on any further review. Corroboration
already rests on two independent publishers — the NYSBA New York State Law Digest and Reason
/ The Volokh Conspiracy — that state the figures firsthand.