The ruling

US District Judge Zachary Bluestone dismissed the civil lawsuit that Ann Altman had filed against her brother, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, according to reports published on 20 October. The judge did not rule on the merits of her claims. He dismissed the case because she refused to attend an independent medical examination, after being warned that skipping it would lead to dismissal. Engadget reported that the judge also approved Sam Altman's request to withdraw a defamation counterclaim he had made against his sister. Bloomberg described the final order as ending the 2025 case.

The allegations and the earlier ruling

Ann Altman filed the lawsuit on 6 January 2025 in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri. She accused her brother of sexually abusing her at the family home in Clayton, Missouri, between 1997 and 2006, starting when she was three and he was 12. She said the last alleged acts took place after he had become an adult, and he is now 41. Sam Altman has denied the accusations. In March, Bluestone ruled that her original sexual assault and battery claims had expired years earlier, but he allowed her to refile under a Missouri childhood sexual abuse law. She then filed the amended complaint that the court has now dismissed.

Refused medical examination

Bluestone wrote that Ann Altman did not appear for an independent medical examination on three separate occasions, despite multiple accommodations and repeated chances to attend. He said she had failed to meaningfully prosecute her case and had continued to violate her discovery obligations. In his written order, he said the court had run out of options, so he dismissed her claims with prejudice. The judge had warned her in advance that failing to attend would end the case.

The family's response

After the lawsuit was filed, Sam Altman, his mother and his two younger brothers issued a joint statement calling the allegations 'entirely untrue'. The family said Ann Altman has mental health challenges, that they had spent years supporting her financially, and that she receives monthly financial support with her bills and rent covered. They said her claims had changed drastically over time. Sam Altman has said she began accusing him on social media after the family rejected her demands for more funds. Her former lawyer, Santos Perez, who withdrew from the case in October, said in a statement:

“I am no longer authorized to comment on this case but I continue to believe in Annie.”

Responses to the ruling

Laura Politi, Ann Altman's lawyer, did not immediately comment on the dismissal, and lawyers for Sam Altman did not immediately comment either. The case was heard in the Eastern District of Missouri. The BBC noted that Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI, which launched the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022.