Judge throws out Sam Altman’s sister’s lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse— but leaves door open to refile

• Annie Altman’s sexual abuse lawsuit against her brother Sam Altman has been dismissed.
• A judge ruled her claims against the OpenAI CEO were too late, but she could refile.
• He greenlit Sam Altman’s defamation countersuit.

A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit brought by the sister of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman alleging he sexually abused her as a child.

Annie Altman’s allegations were brought too late for her lawsuit to survive, US District Judge Zachary Bluestone ruled Friday.

Bluestone, however, gave Annie Altman’s lawsuit a lifeline by allowing her to refile it using Missouri’s particular Childhood Sexual Abuse law, which offers an extended statute of limitations. He gave her until April 3 to file a new lawsuit.

In the same Friday order, the judge greenlit a countersuit from Sam Altman accusing Annie of defamation and of abusing the legal process.

Annie Altman filed her lawsuit in a federal court in Missouri in January 2025. She alleged that Sam Altman, who is nine years older than her, sexually abused her between 1997 and 2006, beginning when she was three years old, when they were growing up in Clayton, Missouri.

Sam Altman has denied the allegations. In a public statement following the filing of the lawsuit, he, his two younger brothers, and their mother said Annie Altman had “mental health issues.”

Sam Altman’s countersuit said that his sister made up the allegations of sexual abuse — posting them on social media as well as including them in her lawsuit — after their family declined her “demands for unrestricted financial support” in light of her mental health issues.

“One of the only points of agreement in this case is that the claims are disturbing — particularly so if they prove true but nonetheless unfortunate if not,” Bluestone wrote in his Friday ruling.

Ryan Mahoney, an attorney representing Annie Altman, said she plans to file a new lawsuit.

“The Court’s ruling relates to procedural matters, which have no bearing on the substance of Ann Altman’s claims,” Mahoney told Business Insider. “The Court granted leave for Ms. Altman to file an amended complaint, which we will do promptly.”

An attorney for Sam Altman declined to comment for this story.