Relying on AI for help in discovery meet-and-confer was not good faith

When a party in a lawsuit claims that the other side is not fully responding to discovery requests, that party can file a motion to compel, asking the court to require the noncompliant party to respond fully to the discovery requests. Before filing such a motion, however, the party must – according to the Rules of Civil Procedure – confer in good faith with the other side.

The case of Tijerino v. Spotify USA Inc. is a patent case in which the pro se plaintiff claimed defendant was not fully responding to discovery. He held a phone call with defendant’s attorneys and – according to defendant’s attorneys’ account of the call which plaintiff did not dispute – used an artificial intelligence program to guide him in the conversation.

After the call, plaintiff filed a motion to compel, which the court denied. The court observed that plaintiff’s failure to be prepared in the conference meant that he did not confer in good faith. It was not sufficient to “outsource” such preparation to artificial intelligence.

Tijerino v. Spotify USA Inc., 2025 WL 1866057 (E.D. Louisiana, July 7, 2025)