Zou v. Miracon Development Inc.
SC British Columbia · Jan 20, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- international
- Court
- SC British Columbia
- Record ID
- zou-v-miracon-development-inc-2026-01-20
- Observed outcome
- The Court ordered the plaintiffs to pay $200 in costs to the defendant, to be set off against the plaintiffs' recoverable disbursements.
- Known monetary consequence
- CA$200
Why this matter warrants attention
The Court imposed a $200 monetary sanction against the self-represented plaintiffs for submitting fictitious, AI-generated case citations. The judge determined that while the plaintiffs lacked malicious intent, the submission of non-existent authorities required a modest sanction to reflect the responsibility of litigants to verify their filings.
Fabricated: Case Law | Plaintiffs submitted non-existent case citations generated by AI; the defence identified them as fictitious and the Court treated them as AI 'hallucinations' and imposed costs.
Even token costs against pro-se filers set precedent—cite these in motions to deter opposing AI misuse.
Failure modes and consequences
- Pro Se
- Fake Citations
- Tort
- Trial
- Monetary
- AI attribution
- Admitted
- Recorded tool
- Generative artificial intelligence (unspecified)
- Known monetary consequence
- CA$200
- Procedural posture
- Costs judgment following a trial on the merits in a civil dispute involving trespass, nuisance, and negligence claims.
Damien Charlotin case archive
Publisher document archive. The recorded document is hosted in the upstream publisher archive.
Open underlying sourceA recorded source link is not a substitute for checking the underlying order, filing, opinion, or disciplinary record.
What this record does—and does not—establish
The Court refers to the use of generative artificial intelligence programs.
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.
Latest evidence review: Primary Document Verified (high confidence).
Controls suggested by the public record
- Verify each cited authority, quotation, and proposition against the underlying source before filing.