A dramatic feud over inheriting a family-owned Oregon winery drove a wedge between four children and led to a landmark penalty over the use of AI in court. 

Valley View Winery boasts 80 acres of vineyards tucked between two mountains along Oregon's southern border. It proudly claims a '50 year tradition of excellence' as one of the state's first wineries.

The founder, Frank Wisnovsky, and his wife, Ann, launched the business in 1972 before Frank suddenly died eight years later. 

Ann continued to operate the winery with the help of her two youngest sons, Mark and Michael. She managed the finances and owned the property while her sons did the work of growing grapes and selling wine. 

The oldest child, Robert, had helped run the business for a few years before leaving, and the second-oldest, Joanne Couvrette, never returned to the winery after leaving for college.

The four children were originally set to receive equal stakes in Valley View after their mother's death, but in 2016, she modified her will so that her youngest sons would get full ownership of the business.

Couvrette took issue with the new will, and in 2019, she filed a new estate plan with Ann that would give ownership of the winery to herself and the oldest son, Robert. She also moved her mother to live near her in Southern California. 

Two years later, Couvrette sued her younger brothers, Mark and Michael, for $12.6 million and accused them of manipulating their mother in earlier inheritance arrangements.

The brothers counter-sued their sister and accused her of trying to take away their inheritance. 

Ann died in 2023 amidst the drama and court proceedings.

Any remaining niceties were thrown out the window, and the legal action between siblings cranked up. Couvrette hired a lawyer named Steve Brigandi, who agreed to represent her for free because she was dating his son. 

In a voicemail reviewed by the New York Times that Robert left his younger brother, Michael, he said: 'We’re not spending a dollar compared to what you’re spending. Walk away. Make money and quit losing money.' 

But the free representation yielded equally cheap results. Court documents filed by Brigandi were riddled with false, AI-generated citations that had nothing to do with the case or were hallucinations. 

The phony citations also only increased with time. Two appeared in a January 2025 filing, then seven in April and 16 in May. 

Brigandi was later rushed to a hospital shortly before the deadline to file a defense. The doctor said he had been suffering from a severe kidney disease that 'significantly impaired' his cognitive function. 

But the judge was unsympathetic and said the lawyer 'must be held accountable.' He also said there was evidence that Couvrette had written the filings herself and that Brigandi may have then signed off on them.

Some of the phony and irrelevant citations included references to free-speech cases, and one of the younger brothers' lawyers said: 'Her A.I. software seemed to be learning about her and pulling from research she had done in another case.'

Around that time, Couvrette had been fired from her job for calling pro-Palestine protestors 'terrorist sympathizers' online. She claimed that her statements were protected speech.

Citing the frequent misuse of AI in her party's court filings, the judge dismissed Couvrette's case against her brothers and slapped Brigandi with a nearly $100,000 fine.

The fine was particularly onerous when compared to other punishments for AI use in court, but the judge said that the Valley View Winery case was 'notorious' and that Couvrette and her lawyer were not 'forthcoming, candid, or apologetic about their conduct.'

Damien Charlotin, a French lawyer who runs the AI legal misuse database, told the New York Times that the fine may be the largest financial penalty in that realm on record, though he was not positive because some fines are not publicly disclosed. 

The winery is now under the full control of Mark and Michael, but they do not believe their sister will give up, and they expect her to appeal the case.