Elon Musk's Suit Against OpenAI Dismissed Over Statute of Limitations

Against OpenAI Dismissed Over Statute of Limitations">

['On Monday, the jury in Musk v. Altman delivered a unanimous advisory verdict that Elon Musk had sued OpenAI too late, and as a result, his claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately accepted the verdict.

Musk announced on X that he will be appealing the decision, stating, "The judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality."', "OpenAI was cofounded by Musk and a group of researchers in 2015 as a nonprofit with a mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, unconstrained by a need to generate financial returns. Musk donated $38 million to the company during its early days, allegedly on the basis that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had promised to keep the company a nonprofit committed to the mission. Musk brought two claims against OpenAI: that Altman and Brockman breached the charitable trust he created through his donations, and that they unjustly enriched themselves at Musk's expense.", "Musk asked the court to unwind a 2025 restructuring that converted OpenAI's for-profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation and to remove Altman and Brockman from their roles.

OpenAI argued that the time for Musk to sue the company had run out before he brought the case. The statute of limitations on the breach of charitable trust claim is three years, while the statute of limitations on the unjust enrichment claim is two years. This means that Musk should have discovered, or had reason to discover, Altman and Brockman's alleged breach of charitable trust no earlier than 2021 and their alleged unjust enrichment no earlier than 2022.", 'During the trial, Musk testified that he has gone through "three phases" in his beliefs about OpenAI: In phase one, he was "enthusiastically supportive" of the company.

In phase two, "I started to lose confidence that they were telling me the truth," he said. In phase three, "I\'m sure they\'re looting the nonprofit." The jury found that Musk did in fact have reason to think that he was being misled by Altman and Brockman before 2021. Musk has said he will appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal appellate court that reviews decisions from district courts in California and other states.']