Judge Throws Out Ann Altman's Lawsuit Against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
The lawsuit against Sam Altman filed by his sister, Ann Altman, has been dismissed. US District Judge Zachary Bluestone ended the case on Tuesday. The suit was filed last year and accused the OpenAI CEO of sexually abusing Ann throughout her childhood.
Why the judge dismissed the lawsuit
According to The Guardian, Judge Bluestone wrote that over the past year Ann failed to appear for an independent medical examination. She also missed other deadlines. The court had warned her that doing so could lead to the case being dismissed.
So the ruling rests on procedure: obligations that went unmet and warnings that went unanswered. The portion of the report available to us does not say what legal steps might come next.
The family's denial from the start
When the suit was filed last year, Sam Altman, his mother, and his brothers released a joint statement. It read: “Annie has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, and especially Sam…”. The quote is cut off in the source, so we can't include the rest of the statement.
If you follow the AI world, this case is worth reading about carefully. Sam Altman is a central figure behind OpenAI and ChatGPT, but the case ended on procedural grounds, not because the court assessed the substance of the allegations.