Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by Sam Altman's Sister After She Refused a Medical Exam, Without Ruling on the Allegations
A U.S. federal judge on October 20 dismissed the sexual abuse lawsuit brought by Ann Altman against her brother, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, with prejudice, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone did not rule on the merits of the allegations. He dismissed the case because Ann Altman refused to appear for an independent medical examination, despite having been warned that skipping it would lead to dismissal.
Ann Altman filed the lawsuit in January 2025, accusing Sam Altman of sexually abusing her at the family's Missouri home between 1997 and 2006, beginning when she was three and he was 12, and alleging that the last instance of abuse took place when her brother was an adult. In March, Judge Bluestone ruled that her original sexual assault and battery claims had expired years earlier, but allowed her to refile under a Missouri childhood sexual abuse law; the amended suit filed under that ruling is the one dismissed on Tuesday.
Sam Altman, 41, has denied the claims. In a joint statement issued after the initial lawsuit was filed, Sam Altman, his mother and his two younger brothers called the allegations entirely untrue, and said Ann Altman has mental health challenges, refuses conventional treatment, and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help. Judge Bluestone on Tuesday also approved Sam Altman's request to withdraw a defamation counterclaim he had brought against his sister.
Ann Altman's former lawyer, Santos Perez, who withdrew from the case in October, said he is no longer authorized to comment on the case but that he continues to believe in Annie, referring to Ann Altman.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：OpenAI 首席执行官 Sam Altman（奥特曼），2022年资料照片。照片：Village Global，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。Photo: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a 2022 file photo. Photo: Village Global, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
