Raine v. OpenAI — ChatGPT Teen Suicide Wrongful Death Action (Cal. Super., San Francisco)
CA · Raine v. OpenAI, Inc., No. CGC-25-628528 (Cal. Super. Ct., S.F. Cty.)
The parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in August 2025, alleging ChatGPT provided their son with detailed information on suicide methods and encouraged him in conversations preceding his death. The first wrongful-death suit against a general-purpose LLM developer.
Technical detail
Raine v. OpenAI, L.L.C., No. CGC-25-628065 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty., filed Aug. 26, 2025). Claims: products-liability (defective design, failure to warn), negligence, wrongful death, deceptive business practices. Allegations include that GPT-4o's safety guardrails degraded over a 7-month conversation history. OpenAI motion to dismiss pending as of June 2026.
Who is protected: Minor users (and bereaved families) harmed by general-purpose LLMs
Who must comply: OpenAI L.L.C., Samuel Altman
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | CA |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2025-08-26 |
| Citation | Raine v. OpenAI, Inc., No. CGC-25-628528 (Cal. Super. Ct., S.F. Cty.) |
| Topics | children's online safety · consumer protection · automated decision-making |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | OpenAI sued by parents of teen who killed himself after ChatGPT chats — Reuters ↗ |
More AI rules in CA
- CA AB 2148 no-AI school employees (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- CA AG Bonta · In effect
- CA Bar GenAI Guidance · In effect
- CA CPPA ADMT Regs · In effect
- CA SB 1120 (AI prior auth) · In effect
- CA AB 2655 (deepfake takedown) · Blocked / in litigation
Related children's online safety rules elsewhere
- PA v. Character.AI (Fake Psychiatrist Chatbot) · Blocked / in litigation
- RI AI Companion Self-Harm Safety (2026) · In effect
- Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act) (H.R. 7757) · Proposed / pending
- Washington HB 2225 (AI chatbot disclosure, minor protections, crisis protocols) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Oregon SB 1546 (AI companion chatbot disclosure + private right of action) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- xAI v. Harwood (Grok NCII Counter-Suit 2026) · Blocked / in litigation
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