US judge dismisses sexual abuse lawsuit against Sam Altman over refused medical exam

A federal judge has dismissed a sexual abuse lawsuit against OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman filed by his sister, ruling on Tuesday that she repeatedly failed to appear for a court-ordered independent medical examination.

US District Judge Zachary Bluestone of the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed the claims with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled, writing that Annie Altman had violated her discovery obligations through “intransigence”, showing “a pattern of intentional delay”. She missed the examination on three separate occasions, despite accommodations including a female nurse, the option of travelling to Boston instead of St Louis, and being allowed to knit.

The dismissal did not rule on the merits. In March, Judge Bluestone ruled the original sexual assault and battery claims had expired years earlier, but allowed a refile under a Missouri childhood sexual abuse law; the amended suit was dismissed this week.

The court granted Altman’s request to dismiss his defamation counterclaims without prejudice, and denied his request for attorneys’ fees, calling the dismissal “a sufficient sanction”. Altman, 41, has denied the accusations. His family called the allegations “entirely untrue” and said she has “mental health challenges”.

Annie Altman filed the lawsuit in a St Louis federal court in January 2025, accusing her brother of sexual abuse and rape between 1997 and 2006 at the family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri — starting when she was three and he was 12, with the last acts alleged when he was an adult.

Sources: Reuters via Tribune, Engadget, Anadolu Agency