A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman filed by his sister, Ann Altman, alleging he sexually abused her as a child.
U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone in Missouri ruled Friday that the OpenAI CEO’s sister’s claims were “premature” because the alleged abuse was so long ago, Bloomberg reported. But the judge said Ann Altman could revise her complaint and refile.
The case in question dates from January 2025.
A look at how the case unfolded
January 2025 – On January 8, 2025, Ann Altman filed a lawsuit alleging that Sam Altman abused and manipulated her while they were growing up in Missouri in the late 1990s to early 2000s. She claimed the abuse began when she was 3 years old and the latest incident allegedly occurred when he was an adult, but she was still a minor.
— In a post on X, Sam Altman with his mother and two brothers called the claims “absolutely false.”
— In her complaint, Ann Altman, then 30, alleged the abuse included “numerous acts” of rape, sexual assault, molestation, sodomy and bodily harm until she was 11 or 12 years old.
— She was seeking $75,000 in compensatory damages along with punitive damages for alleged injuries including post-traumatic stress disorder, severe emotional distress, mental anguish and depression, Reuters previously reported.
March 2025 — Sam Altman sued his sister for defamation. He denied Anna’s claims, claiming that her “false statements” had lowered his reputation and led to emotional pain.
— Lawyers for OpenAI’s CEO also claimed that Ann Altman sued him for what they described as an “improper purpose of pressuring him to accede to her demands for unlimited financial support,” Bloomberg reported.
March 2026 — In a ruling on Friday (March 20, 2026), Judge Zachary Bluestone said Annie Altman could not pursue sexual assault and battery for allegedly abusing her brother between 1997 and 2006 because those claims expired in 2008, Reuters reported.
— Said Annie Altman will be able to file an amended complaint alleging a claim under Missouri’s Childhood Sexual Abuse statute
