Jon H. v. Lydia M.
Family Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia (as described by the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia) · W. Va. Fam. Ct. (Kanawha County) · West Virginia bar guidance
Verified September 30, 2026
- Citation
- Jon H. v. Lydia M., No. 24-ICA-396 (W. Va. Ct. App. June 6, 2025) (memorandum decision), n.3
- Decided
- June 6, 2025
Summary
In a custodial allocation case in the Family Court of Kanawha County, the mother's counsel informed the family court at a hearing on her motion to set aside judgment that she had just been made aware that her staff used artificial intelligence to draft that motion. As described in a footnote to the Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia's later memorandum decision, "On July 10, 2024, Mother's attorney filed an artificial intelligence disclosure, as directed by the family court."
- AI tool:
- Unidentified (counsel reported that her staff used 'artificial intelligence' to draft a motion; no tool is named)
How did the court address the AI-related conduct?
The family court directed counsel to file an AI disclosure, and counsel filed one on July 10, 2024. The family court's directive itself was not located; this entry relies on the Intermediate Court of Appeals' description. The appellate decision, on the father's later appeal of the custodial allocation, affirmed the family court on grounds unrelated to AI and records no sanction.
Why does Jon H. v. Lydia M. matter for law firms using AI?
A per-case AI disclosure directive from a West Virginia family court, known only through an appellate footnote. After counsel told the court that her staff had used AI to draft a motion, the family court directed her to file an AI disclosure, which she did. The appellate decision says nothing more about AI: it does not describe the directive’s terms, does not suggest any sanction, and resolves the appeal on unrelated grounds.
For firms, the episode shows how AI use by staff can surface at a hearing and produce a case-specific disclosure obligation even where no court rule requires disclosure, which is one reason firm AI policies address staff use and not only attorney use.
Sources
Primary sources
- The family court's AI disclosure directive and counsel's July 10, 2024 disclosure were not located in a court record; both are known only from footnote 3 of the Intermediate Court of Appeals' memorandum decision. The exact date of the directive is not stated there.