Florida Attorney General Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman Over ChatGPT Safety Lapses
On June 1, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a landmark, first-in-the-nation state-led civil lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. Originally filed in Florida state court (Highlands County Tenth Judicial Circuit, Case No. 2026-CA-000171), the case represents a major escalation in regulatory scrutiny of consumer-facing generative AI platforms.
The lawsuit alleges product liability, negligence, and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). The State of Florida asserts that OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, was misleadingly and unsafely released to the public without adequate safeguards, leading to severe mental and emotional harms to children and other vulnerable users.
Removal to Federal Court and the Motion to Remand
Following the initial filing, OpenAI removed the action to federal court. The case is now pending as Attorney General of Florida v. OpenAI Global, LLC, et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-14238, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Fort Pierce Division). The federal case has been assigned to District Judge Aileen M. Cannon.
In response to OpenAI's removal, the Florida Attorney General filed a formal motion to remand the case back to state court in July 2026. The State argues that the lawsuit is fundamentally based on state-law consumer protection claims (FDUTPA) and local public safety concerns, which are best adjudicated in Florida state court rather than a federal forum.
As tracked by legal dockets:
"Attorney General of Florida v. OpenAI Global, LLC, et al.... Main claim type and allegation: Product liability, negligence, and violation of Florida’s business practices statutes; plaintiff alleges that defendant’s chatbot ChatGPT was misleadingly and unsafely foisted on the Florida public and causes a broad array of harms to children and others"
This jurisdictional battle is highly significant. If the case is remanded to state court, it could set a precedent for state Attorneys General to bypass federal courts and hold AI developers accountable under local consumer protection laws, which often carry broad enforcement powers and substantial statutory penalties.