Are case filings in historically high-volume case types increasing because of artificial intelligence?
While civil caseloads have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, researchers with the Court Statistics Project (CSP), a collaborative initiative of Nation Center for State Courts and the Conference of State Court Administrators, are closely examining the increase in high-volume civil case filings. They note a significant 10.75% year-over-year increase in 2023, marking the largest growth in civil caseloads since 2020.
The observed increase in case filings coincides with the widespread emergence of generative AI (GenAI) tools, leading researchers to question if these technologies may be a contributing factor to the rise in civil caseload activity.
“The Superior Court of Los Angeles County has observed a substantial increase in civil case filings in recent years,” according to David Slayton, CEO and clerk of court for the Los Angeles Superior Court. “While we cannot definitively attribute this trend to generative AI, it is reasonable to consider its growing accessibility as a possible factor.”
The increase in civil caseloads is largely driven by contract case filings, which saw a 21% increase in 2022 and a 15% increase in 2023 for the 28 states that provided CSP with data for contract cases across the last five years.
The newly released report from CSP and the TRI/NCSC AI Policy Consortium explores the hypothesis of GenAI use, focusing on contract cases.
The report highlights two key reasons for this focus and why AI use may be possible:
• Individual plaintiffs in contract case types are less likely to be represented by counsel than those in real estate and tort cases.
• Corporate plaintiffs are often high-volume filers, such as debt purchasers.
Researchers suggest courts begin assessing their caseloads and preparing for increases in contract case filings, following these recommendations:
• Monitor civil case filings to ensure the court is allocating the resources necessary to manage these cases.
• Implement debt collection reforms.
• Consider using AI to automatically check case filings for sufficiency.
• Consider using AI to help manage caseloads.
To read the full report, visit https://bit.ly/4nvoC2w.
While civil caseloads have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, researchers with the Court Statistics Project (CSP), a collaborative initiative of Nation Center for State Courts and the Conference of State Court Administrators, are closely examining the increase in high-volume civil case filings. They note a significant 10.75% year-over-year increase in 2023, marking the largest growth in civil caseloads since 2020.
The observed increase in case filings coincides with the widespread emergence of generative AI (GenAI) tools, leading researchers to question if these technologies may be a contributing factor to the rise in civil caseload activity.
“The Superior Court of Los Angeles County has observed a substantial increase in civil case filings in recent years,” according to David Slayton, CEO and clerk of court for the Los Angeles Superior Court. “While we cannot definitively attribute this trend to generative AI, it is reasonable to consider its growing accessibility as a possible factor.”
The increase in civil caseloads is largely driven by contract case filings, which saw a 21% increase in 2022 and a 15% increase in 2023 for the 28 states that provided CSP with data for contract cases across the last five years.
The newly released report from CSP and the TRI/NCSC AI Policy Consortium explores the hypothesis of GenAI use, focusing on contract cases.
The report highlights two key reasons for this focus and why AI use may be possible:
• Individual plaintiffs in contract case types are less likely to be represented by counsel than those in real estate and tort cases.
• Corporate plaintiffs are often high-volume filers, such as debt purchasers.
Researchers suggest courts begin assessing their caseloads and preparing for increases in contract case filings, following these recommendations:
• Monitor civil case filings to ensure the court is allocating the resources necessary to manage these cases.
• Implement debt collection reforms.
• Consider using AI to automatically check case filings for sufficiency.
• Consider using AI to help manage caseloads.
To read the full report, visit https://bit.ly/4nvoC2w.
