A federal judge has dismissed a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by Ann Altman against her brother, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The ruling, issued Tuesday by US District Judge Zachary Bluestone, did not address the merits of her claims. Instead, the judge wrote that Ann refused to appear for an independent medical examination, despite being warned that doing so would lead to dismissal of the case.
Ann Altman filed the lawsuit in January 2025, accusing Sam Altman of sexually abusing her when she was a child. She alleged the abuse took place at the family's Missouri home between 1997 and 2006, beginning when she was three and he was 12, with the last alleged instance occurring after her brother became an adult. The case was previously revised. In March, Bluestone ruled that Ann's original sexual assault and battery claims had expired years earlier, but allowed her to refile under a Missouri childhood sexual abuse law.
Sam Altman, now 41, has denied the claims. Bluestone also approved his request on Tuesday to withdraw a defamation counterclaim he had filed against his sister. In a joint statement issued after the lawsuit was filed, Sam Altman, his mother and two younger brothers called the allegations "entirely untrue," saying Ann Altman has "mental health challenges" and "refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help."
Ann Altman's former lawyer, Santos Perez, who withdrew from the case in October, said in a statement that he is no longer authorized to comment but "continue[s] to believe in Annie."
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing