Jury hands victory to Sam Altman and OpenAI in battle with ...

A federal jury in Oakland, California, found Sam Altman, OpenAI and its president Greg Brockman not liable for Elon Musk's claims of unjust enrichment and breach of a founding contract. The verdict followed less than two hours of deliberation. The jury also determined that Musk's lawsuit fell outside the statute of limitations. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers agreed with the jury and dismissed the claims. She stated there was a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury's finding. The judge had prepared to dismiss the case on the spot. OpenAI lead attorney William Savitt said the jury found Musk's case was a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor. Savitt added that the verdict was a substantive decision based on evidence and testimony. Musk's attorneys framed the outcome as a technical one and said the testimony was valuable for the world to see. Musk stated he would appeal the verdict to the Ninth Circuit. He claimed the judge and jury ruled on a calendar technicality rather than the merits. None of Musk, Altman or Brockman were present in court for the verdict. The nine-person jury heard from several Silicon Valley executives during the trial. Microsoft was also found not liable for claims of aiding and abetting. The ruling provides OpenAI a clear path to pursue going public later this year at about a $1tn valuation.