OpenAI Chief Sam Altman Wins Dismissal of Sister's Lawsuit After She Refused Independent Medical Examination

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has won a dismissal of a lawsuit brought against him by his sister that claimed he had sexually abused her more than two decades ago. Altman has always denied the accusations.

A US district judge dismissed the case after Ann Altman refused to attend an independent medical examination. She had been warned that a failure to do so would result in the case being thrown out.

The case was filed on 6 January 2025 in the Eastern District of Missouri. Ann Altman claimed that her older brother began abusing her when she was three and he was 12, and that the abuse continued regularly between 1997 and 2006.

District Judge Zachary Bluestone said that despite multiple accommodations and multiple opportunities, Ann Altman did not appear for an independent medical exam on three separate occasions, and ‘failed to meaningfully prosecute her case’.

‘Because Annie has continued to violate her discovery obligations and forced this case to a halt through her intransigence, the Court has run out of options and, thus, dismisses her claims with prejudice,’ the judge said in his written order. A dismissal with prejudice means the same claims cannot be filed again.

Sam Altman has denied the accusations. In a joint statement released with his mother and two brothers at the time the case was filed, the family said they were concerned for Ann Altman's wellbeing and had spent years trying to support her financially and to assist with medical help.

The family said Ann Altman has mental health challenges, receives monthly financial support, and has her bills and rent covered. They said her claims against Sam Altman had changed drastically over time, but that all of those claims were ‘utterly untrue’.

The Altman family has said the claims were made as Ann Altman continued to demand more funds. The court's decision, however, rested not on the truth of the allegations but on the plaintiff's failure to meet her procedural obligations in the case.

Sam Altman is the co-founder of OpenAI, which launched its popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot in 2022 and made him one of the most prominent figures in the technology world.

The order brings an apparent end to a legal fight that had run for nearly two years. Because the case was dismissed with prejudice, the door is closed to refiling the same allegations.