diff --git a/assets/js/tools.js b/assets/js/tools.js
index edbcacf..39b6c1a 100644
--- a/assets/js/tools.js
+++ b/assets/js/tools.js
@@ -388,6 +388,7 @@ const TIMELINE_I18N = {
 let lastTimelineEvents = [];
 let lastTimelineEventsOriginal = [];
 let lastTimelineWhatWeFound = '';
+let lastTimelineInputDateHintCount = null;
 let activeActorFilters = new Set();
 let timelineSearchTerm = '';
 let showSources = true;
@@ -1602,6 +1603,7 @@ function renderMainFinding(data) {
     lastTimelineEventsOriginal = data.events || [];
     lastTimelineEvents = [...lastTimelineEventsOriginal];
     lastTimelineWhatWeFound = data.what_we_found || '';
+    lastTimelineInputDateHintCount = data.trace_metadata?.input_date_hint_count ?? null;
     activeActorFilters = new Set();
     timelineSearchTerm = '';
     showSources = true;
@@ -1728,6 +1730,9 @@ function applyTimelineFilters() {
 
 function renderTimeline(events, grouped = false) {
   if (!events.length) {
+    if (lastTimelineInputDateHintCount === 0) {
+      return '<p class="timeline-empty">No recognizable dates were found in the extracted text. Check that the upload is text-searchable, or paste the relevant dated section and run again.</p>';
+    }
     return '<p class="timeline-empty">No matching events.</p>';
   }
   const MONTH_NAMES = ['Jan','Feb','Mar','Apr','May','Jun','Jul','Aug','Sep','Oct','Nov','Dec'];
diff --git a/includes/AzureOpenAiGateway.php b/includes/AzureOpenAiGateway.php
index 5fd92fb..275bd13 100644
--- a/includes/AzureOpenAiGateway.php
+++ b/includes/AzureOpenAiGateway.php
@@ -149,13 +149,20 @@ final class DbnAzureOpenAiGateway
     public function decodeJsonObject(string $content): ?array
     {
         $content = trim($content);
+        $content = (string)preg_replace('/^```(?:json)?\s*\n?/i', '', $content);
+        $content = (string)preg_replace('/\n?```\s*$/', '', $content);
+        $content = trim($content);
+
         $decoded = json_decode($content, true);
         if (is_array($decoded)) {
             return $decoded;
         }
 
-        if (preg_match('/\{(?:[^{}]|(?R))*\}/s', $content, $match)) {
-            $decoded = json_decode($match[0], true);
+        $start = strpos($content, '{');
+        $end   = strrpos($content, '}');
+        if ($start !== false && $end !== false && $end > $start) {
+            $candidate = substr($content, $start, $end - $start + 1);
+            $decoded = json_decode($candidate, true);
             if (is_array($decoded)) {
                 return $decoded;
             }
diff --git a/includes/LegalTools.php b/includes/LegalTools.php
index 4a112b0..2408d94 100644
--- a/includes/LegalTools.php
+++ b/includes/LegalTools.php
@@ -361,6 +361,7 @@ PROMPT;
         $onProgress && $onProgress("Preparing document\u{2026}");
 
         $locale = dbnToolsLanguageName($language);
+        $inputDateHintCount = $this->timelineDateHintCount($text);
 
         $focusInstruction = match ($focus) {
             'deadlines' => "\nFocus specifically on: legal deadlines, filing dates, response windows, appeal periods, and statutory time limits. Deprioritise narrative events with no legal deadline significance.",
@@ -445,6 +446,42 @@ Return JSON only:
 }
 PROMPT;
 
+        if ($engine === 'nova_lite') {
+            $prompt = <<<PROMPT
+Build a chronological timeline from the pasted text in {$locale}.{$userNotesBlock}
+
+Extract dated lines and temporal references from uploaded or pasted case text. Focus on recall: if a line starts with or contains a date, include it as an event.{$focusInstruction}{$backgroundInstruction}{$relativeInstruction}
+
+Recognise Norwegian formats:
+- DD.MM.YYYY, DD.MM.YY, D.M.YY
+- DD.MM. or D.M. without a year; infer the nearest year from nearby text when possible
+- "den DD. month YYYY" and Norwegian month names
+- optional times such as "kl. 09.00" or "14:30"
+
+For every event return:
+- date as YYYY-MM-DD when determinable, otherwise a short human-readable date
+- end_date as null unless the source states a period
+- time as HH:MM or null
+- date_type: absolute, relative, recurring, conditional, or period
+- actor: the named person/institution or "unknown"
+- event: concise description
+- source_excerpt: the exact source words that show the date and event
+- confidence: high, medium, or low
+
+Pasted text:
+{$text}
+
+Return JSON only:
+{
+  "what_we_found": "event count, date range, main actors, notable gaps",
+  "events": [{"date":"YYYY-MM-DD","end_date":null,"time":null,"date_type":"absolute","actor":"unknown","event":"...","source_excerpt":"...","confidence":"high"}],
+  "evidence_trail": [{"title":"Pasted text","excerpt":"Processed in-memory only; not stored."}],
+  "what_remains_uncertain": [],
+  "next_practical_step": "..."
+}
+PROMPT;
+        }
+
         $system = $this->legalJsonSystemPrompt($language);
         $messages = [
             ['role' => 'system', 'content' => $system],
@@ -464,23 +501,45 @@ PROMPT;
                 $response = $this->azure->withDeployment('gpt-4o-mini')->chat($messages, $chatOptions);
             }
         } catch (Throwable $e) {
-            dbnToolsAbort('LLM request failed: ' . $e->getMessage(), 502, 'llm_error');
+            $msg = $e->getMessage();
+            if (preg_match('/timed?\s*out|timeout|operation timed out/i', $msg)) {
+                dbnToolsAbort('The model timed out. Try Quick mode, a smaller file, or fewer selected documents.', 504, 'llm_timeout');
+            }
+            dbnToolsAbort('LLM request failed: ' . $msg, 502, 'llm_error');
         }
 
         $onProgress && $onProgress("Parsing events\u{2026}");
 
         $raw  = (string)($response['choices'][0]['message']['content'] ?? '');
-        if ($engine === 'nova_lite') {
-            $raw = (string)preg_replace('/^```(?:json)?\s*\n?/m', '', $raw);
-            $raw = (string)preg_replace('/\n?```\s*$/m', '', $raw);
-            $raw = trim($raw);
-        }
         $json = $this->azure->decodeJsonObject($raw);
         if (!$json) {
             dbnToolsAbort('The selected engine did not return valid structured JSON.', 502, 'llm_invalid_json');
         }
 
         $events = is_array($json['events'] ?? null) ? $json['events'] : [];
+        $usedFallbackExtractor = false;
+        if (!$events && $inputDateHintCount > 0) {
+            $fallbackEvents = $this->fallbackTimelineEvents($text);
+            if ($fallbackEvents) {
+                $events = $fallbackEvents;
+                $usedFallbackExtractor = true;
+                $uncertain = is_array($json['what_remains_uncertain'] ?? null) ? $json['what_remains_uncertain'] : [];
+                array_unshift($uncertain, 'The selected engine returned no events, so a deterministic date-line fallback extracted visible dated lines. Review these medium-confidence entries against the original file.');
+                $json['what_remains_uncertain'] = $uncertain;
+                $json['what_we_found'] = count($events) . ' date-like event(s) extracted by fallback after the selected engine returned no events.';
+                $json['next_practical_step'] = 'Review each fallback event against the original uploaded document and rerun with Standard or Deep if you need fuller actor/event interpretation.';
+            }
+        }
+        if (!$events && $inputDateHintCount === 0) {
+            $json['what_we_found'] = (string)($json['what_we_found'] ?? 'No recognizable dates were found in the extracted text from this upload.');
+            if (trim((string)$json['what_we_found']) === '') {
+                $json['what_we_found'] = 'No recognizable dates were found in the extracted text from this upload.';
+            }
+            $json['next_practical_step'] = (string)($json['next_practical_step'] ?? 'Check that the file text was extracted correctly, or upload a text-searchable PDF/DOCX.');
+            if (trim((string)$json['next_practical_step']) === '') {
+                $json['next_practical_step'] = 'Check that the file text was extracted correctly, or upload a text-searchable PDF/DOCX.';
+            }
+        }
 
         // Post-filter: confidence
         if ($confidenceFilter === 'high_medium') {
@@ -523,11 +582,117 @@ PROMPT;
                 'chunk_count'  => count($events),
                 'source_count' => 1,
                 'deployment'   => $engineLabel,
+                'input_date_hint_count' => $inputDateHintCount,
+                'used_fallback_extractor' => $usedFallbackExtractor,
             ],
             'disclaimer' => dbnToolsDisclaimer($language),
         ];
     }
 
+    private function timelineDateHintCount(string $text): int
+    {
+        preg_match_all('/(?<!\d)\d{1,2}\.\d{1,2}\.(?:\d{2,4})?(?!\d)/u', $text, $numeric);
+        preg_match_all('/\b\d{1,2}\.\s*(?:januar|februar|mars|april|mai|juni|juli|august|september|oktober|november|desember)\b/iu', $text, $months);
+        return count($numeric[0] ?? []) + count($months[0] ?? []);
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackTimelineEvents(string $text): array
+    {
+        $lines = preg_split('/\R/u', $text) ?: [];
+        $events = [];
+        $lastYear = null;
+        foreach ($lines as $line) {
+            if (count($events) >= 80) {
+                break;
+            }
+            $line = trim((string)preg_replace('/\s+/u', ' ', $line));
+            if ($line === '') {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (preg_match('/\b(20\d{2}|19\d{2})\b/u', $line, $ym)) {
+                $lastYear = (int)$ym[1];
+            }
+            if (!preg_match_all('/(?<!\d)(\d{1,2})\.(\d{1,2})\.(?:(\d{2,4}))?(?!\d)/u', $line, $matches, PREG_SET_ORDER | PREG_OFFSET_CAPTURE)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            foreach ($matches as $m) {
+                if (count($events) >= 80) {
+                    break 2;
+                }
+                $day = (int)$m[1][0];
+                $month = (int)$m[2][0];
+                if ($day < 1 || $day > 31 || $month < 1 || $month > 12) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                $yearRaw = $m[3][0] ?? '';
+                $year = null;
+                if ($yearRaw !== '') {
+                    $year = strlen($yearRaw) === 2 ? 2000 + (int)$yearRaw : (int)$yearRaw;
+                    $lastYear = $year;
+                } elseif ($lastYear !== null) {
+                    $year = $lastYear;
+                }
+                $date = $year !== null
+                    ? sprintf('%04d-%02d-%02d', $year, $month, $day)
+                    : sprintf('%02d.%02d. (year unknown)', $day, $month);
+                $time = null;
+                if (preg_match('/\bkl\.?\s*(\d{1,2})[:.](\d{2})\b|\b(\d{1,2}):(\d{2})\b/u', $line, $tm)) {
+                    $hour = (int)($tm[1] !== '' ? $tm[1] : $tm[3]);
+                    $min = (int)($tm[2] !== '' ? $tm[2] : $tm[4]);
+                    if ($hour >= 0 && $hour <= 23 && $min >= 0 && $min <= 59) {
+                        $time = sprintf('%02d:%02d', $hour, $min);
+                    }
+                }
+                $eventText = trim(preg_replace('/^\s*[-*#\s]*/u', '', $line));
+                $eventText = trim(preg_replace('/^' . preg_quote($m[0][0], '/') . '\s*(?:kl\.?\s*\d{1,2}[:.]\d{2})?\s*[:\-–—]?\s*/u', '', $eventText));
+                if ($eventText === '') {
+                    $eventText = 'Dated event found in uploaded text.';
+                }
+                $events[] = [
+                    'date' => $date,
+                    'end_date' => null,
+                    'time' => $time,
+                    'date_type' => $year !== null ? 'absolute' : 'relative',
+                    'actor' => $this->fallbackTimelineActor($line),
+                    'event' => mb_substr($eventText, 0, 240, 'UTF-8'),
+                    'source_excerpt' => mb_substr($line, 0, 300, 'UTF-8'),
+                    'confidence' => 'medium',
+                ];
+            }
+        }
+
+        usort($events, static function (array $a, array $b): int {
+            $ad = (string)($a['date'] ?? '');
+            $bd = (string)($b['date'] ?? '');
+            $ai = preg_match('/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/', $ad) ? $ad : '9999-99-99';
+            $bi = preg_match('/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$/', $bd) ? $bd : '9999-99-99';
+            return strcmp($ai, $bi);
+        });
+
+        return $events;
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackTimelineActor(string $line): string
+    {
+        $actors = [
+            '/barnevern(?:s?tjenesten)?|bv\b/iu' => 'Barnevernstjenesten',
+            '/fylkesnemnda/iu' => 'Fylkesnemnda',
+            '/statsforvalter(?:en)?/iu' => 'Statsforvalteren',
+            '/tingrett/iu' => 'Tingrett',
+            '/lagmannsrett/iu' => 'Lagmannsrett',
+            '/høyesterett|høyesterett/iu' => 'Høyesterett',
+            '/\bnav\b/iu' => 'NAV',
+            '/\bbup\b/iu' => 'BUP',
+            '/\bppt\b/iu' => 'PPT',
+        ];
+        foreach ($actors as $pattern => $actor) {
+            if (preg_match($pattern, $line)) {
+                return $actor;
+            }
+        }
+        return 'unknown';
+    }
+
     public function redact(
         string $text,
         string $mode         = 'standard',