William McNae and Ronda McNae v. ARAG Insurance Company
W.D. Washington · Nov 13, 2025
What happened in this matter?
The court struck the plaintiffs' joint discovery submission and imposed a $100 monetary sanction. The court determined that the plaintiffs included fabricated legal citations and made false representations to opposing counsel, which unnecessarily multiplied proceedings and obstructed the court's orderly administration of justice.
- Why the court cared
- Fabricated: Legal Norm | Plaintiffs relied on a purported quotation from Local Civil Rule 1(c) claiming it "permits flexibility 'in the interest of justice'", but the rule contains no such language and the attribution was inaccurate. || Fabricated: Case Law | Plaintiffs attributed the quotation "factual materials underlying an ERISA determination are discoverable" to Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Ins. Co.; the Court found the quotation does not appear in Abatie and could not be located via Westlaw/Google.
- Why it matters now
- This record documents a Pro Se Litigant filing issue in W.D. Washington, with the listed outcome: Filing struck; monetary sanction.
Why this matter is tracked
Pro se plaintiffs filed a joint discovery submission that included fabricated legal authorities and mischaracterized local rules. Specifically, plaintiffs cited a non-existent provision in Local Civil Rule 1(c) and attributed a non-existent quotation to Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Ins. Co. Additionally, plaintiffs made false representations to opposing counsel regarding their retention of legal counsel. The court found that plaintiffs' conduct multiplied proceedings and obstructed the orderly administration of justice. Consequently, the court struck the joint submission and imposed a $100 monetary sanction against the plaintiffs, while warning that future deceptive conduct or failure to comply with local rules could result in more severe sanctions, including dismissal of the action with prejudice.
This record documents a Pro Se Litigant filing issue in W.D. Washington, with the listed outcome: Filing struck; monetary sanction.
Record details
What the record establishes about AI use
The court identified the use of fabricated citations and quotes, implying the use of generative AI.
The court granted the defendant's motion to strike the plaintiffs' joint discovery submission (ECF #93) and imposed monetary sanctions following a finding of bad faith conduct.
Correction behavior is not separately verified in the current record.
Tracked discrepancy record
2 citation, quotation, or authority issues are recorded in the source dataset.
- Fabricated: Legal Norm | Plaintiffs relied on a purported quotation from Local Civil Rule 1(c) claiming it "permits flexibility 'in the interest of justice'", but the rule contains no such language and the attribution was inaccurate.
- Fabricated: Case Law | Plaintiffs attributed the quotation "factual materials underlying an ERISA determination are discoverable" to Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Ins. Co.; the Court found the quotation does not appear in Abatie and could not be located via Westlaw/Google.
Questions this record answers
- What happened in William McNae and Ronda McNae v. ARAG Insurance Company?
- The court struck the plaintiffs' joint discovery submission and imposed a $100 monetary sanction. The court determined that the plaintiffs included fabricated legal citations and made false representations to opposing counsel, which unnecessarily multiplied proceedings and obstructed the court's orderly administration of justice.
- Why does William McNae and Ronda McNae v. ARAG Insurance Company matter for legal AI risk?
- This record documents a Pro Se Litigant filing issue in W.D. Washington, with the listed outcome: Filing struck; monetary sanction.
- What does the public record establish about William McNae and Ronda McNae v. ARAG Insurance Company?
- Retained unchanged after audit: the existing summary is source-specific, non-placeholder, and supported by the recorded source link. Read the underlying source before relying on it for legal advice or a filing.
- Which source supports this William McNae and Ronda McNae v. ARAG Insurance Company summary?
- The recorded source is Damien Charlotin case archive. It is classified as publisher document archive; review the linked material and subsequent docket history before relying on this summary.
Related matters
Related by court, jurisdiction, tool, or classified failure pattern. Similarity does not imply the same facts or outcome.