The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals denied the government’s motion to dismiss DSME Construction Co., Ltd. but imposed lesser sanctions after appellant’s briefing included citations to non-existent cases generated by artificial intelligence.
On March 13, 2026, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals issued its opinion in DSME Construction Co., Ltd., ASBCA No. 63878, denying the government’s motion to dismiss the contractor’s appeal with prejudice in connection with a default termination of a preventative-maintenance contract at U.S. installations in the Republic of Korea.
The Board declined to impose dismissal as a sanction but struck the appellant’s defective surreply. The opinion is notable as one of the first published Board treatments of generative-AI hallucinations in CDA briefing. The Board’s discussion of the duty of candor and the appropriate sanctions framework will be cited in future motion practice at the Board and at the Court of Federal Claims.
Counsel handling Board appeals should reinforce internal verification protocols for case citations. Where AI tools are used, every citation should be confirmed against a primary database before filing, and the firm should maintain a documented quality-control step in the brief-preparation workflow.
Source: DSME Construction, Co., Ltd., ASBCA No. 63878 (March 13, 2026). Read the decision.