MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's lawyers use AI for court filing, push to move defamation trial
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Lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have asked a judge to postpone the defamation trial against him after mistakenly filing a document made with artificial intelligence.
In an April 28 filing with the U.S. District Court for Colorado, Christopher Kachouroff and Jennifer DeMaster, the attorneys for MyPillow and Lindell, requested to push the proceedings to "ensure a fair trial and adequate preparation."
Last week, federal Judge Nina Wang questioned the attorneys' use of generative AI in a February filing. Kachouroff said he uses generative AI to analyze documents, but said the filing was a draft that was mistakenly submitted to the court due to "human error."
In Monday's motion, the lawyers said they have experienced "reputational harm, emotional distress, and significant distractions from trial preparation" because of last week's hearing about the mistaken filing.
Former Dominion Voting Systems executive Eric Coomer is suing Lindell for defamation tying back to claims the MyPillow founder made about fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Coomer alleges that Lindell played a role in spreading a conspiracy theory that he admitted to rigging voting systems for Dominion. The trial is currently set to begin June 2.
USA TODAY has reached out to Kachouroff, DeMaster and Lindell for comment.
Lindell's lawyers admitted to using generative AI for documents
Wang filed an order on April 23 that said the lawyers submitted a document in February with nearly 30 errors, including citation of cases that do not exist.
Kachouroff admitted to using generative AI at an April 21 hearing, according to the order.
The judge in the order threatened to penalize the lawyers and refer them to disciplinary hearings if they did not provide further explanation about the use of generative AI by May 5.
In a response filed two days later, Kachouroff said he was "wholly unprepared" for the hearing about whether generative AI was used, adding that he had "never heard of that phrase before and refer to artificial intelligence as simply 'AI.'"
He said he often uses platforms like Microsoft Copilot "to analyze my own and my opposition's arguments."
"There is nothing wrong with using AI when used properly," Kachouroff said in the response.
The response also said the document in question was an "inadvertent, an erroneous filing that was not done intentionally, and was filed mistakenly through human error."
Lawyers push to move start date in defamation trial against Lindell
On Monday, Lindell's lawyers filed a motion to postpone the start of the defamation trial, which is currently slated to begin June 2.
The motion said the issues surrounding the erroneous filing made using generative AI "has imposedsignificant burdens" on the lawyers and interfered with their trial preparation.
"It has triggered national media coverage, subjecting defense counsel to reputational harm, emotional distress, and significant distractions from trial preparation," the motion said.
The lawyers also raised concerns about "potential jury prejudice" in the case if it moves forward with the June 2 start date.
They requested the trial be pushed back by 45 days to begin in mid-July. The motion said Coomer's lawyer opposed the request.
What is MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell being sued for?
Coomer's case against the MyPillow CEO stems from claims Lindell made that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in former President Joe Biden's favor.
The MyPillow founder has faced a slew of legal actions in recent years, including an ongoing defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
Coomer, a former Dominion executive, alleges Lindell made defamatory remarks against him by spreading a conspiracy theory that Coomer had admitted to rigging voting machines.
Melina Khan is a trending reporter covering national news for USA TODAY. She can be reached at MKhan@gannett.com.
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