Judge throws out case against OpenAI's boss⁠.

A US district judge has dismissed the lawsuit Ann Altman brought against her brother, Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI¹. She accused him of repeatedly sexually abusing her more than two decades ago, which he has denied¹. The case was filed on 6 January 2025 in the Eastern District of Missouri².

District Judge Zachary Bluestone said Ann Altman had not appeared for an independent medical examination on three separate occasions, despite multiple accommodations, and had failed to meaningfully prosecute her case². She had been warned that not attending would mean the case was thrown out². In his written order he said the court had run out of options and dismissed her claims with prejudice². That means the case cannot be refiled in that court³. He granted Sam Altman's motion to dismiss but refused his request for legal fees and costs³.

Ann Altman alleged the abuse took place between 1997 and 2006 at the family home in Clayton, Missouri¹. When the case was filed, Sam Altman, his mother and his two brothers issued a joint statement calling her claims utterly untrue². The family has said Ann Altman has mental health challenges and that they support her financially¹. Sam Altman has said she began making the accusations on social media after the family turned down her demands for more money¹.

A lawyer who represented Ann Altman until he withdrew from the case this month said he was no longer authorised to comment, but that he continued to believe in her¹. Her current lawyer and Sam Altman's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment¹. Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI, which launched ChatGPT in 2022².

A private case, not a business one

This was a family dispute heard in an American court, and it changes nothing about what OpenAI sells to a British company, what it costs or the terms it comes on. None of the reporting gives a British angle, and we will not invent one. The order rests on the case not being pursued: she did not attend the examinations the court required. It is not a finding on whether the allegations were true, and nobody should read it as one.

For a firm that runs on ChatGPT, the honest answer is that nothing here needs doing. The case had been running since January 2025, and the court has now closed it in his favour on procedure, not on the facts.

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