James Gates filed the complaint against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco County Superior Court, accusing the company of designing a defective product that validated his wife’s suspicions and provided detailed guidance for an alleged murder attempt.
According to the lawsuit, Cheryl Gates began using ChatGPT in early 2025 for work-related tasks and everyday advice. Her use of the chatbot reportedly increased over the following months as tensions over the couple’s finances and possible divorce put further strain on their marriage.
The complaint alleges that conversations about her frustrations gradually shifted toward poisoning her husband. It accuses ChatGPT of reinforcing her mistrust, suggesting ways to carry out the plan and providing information about substances, dosages, delivery methods and how to avoid detection.
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“The product validated Cheryl, sustained her, encouraged her plans by affirming her worst unfounded fears,” the lawsuit states, alleging that the chatbot also supplied operational details for the attempted murder.
Husband says he became seriously ill
Gates said he first noticed that drinks in the household tasted unusually bitter in early summer 2025.
On July 10, he became violently ill, experiencing cardiac symptoms, abdominal pain, severe weakness, confusion and extreme jitteriness. His symptoms reportedly lasted around 72 hours.
The lawsuit says he began to suspect poisoning after finding a handwritten note from his wife about two months later. It allegedly listed oleander, a poisonous plant, alongside several prescription medications and included the instructions “Clear all convos” and “log out of [ChatGPT].”
The complaint also alleges that Cheryl asked the chatbot about oleander’s toxicity, whether it could be concealed in food or drinks and whether it would be detected during an autopsy.
Gates eventually discovered his wife’s ChatGPT conversations, which he says helped him understand her behavior in the months before the alleged poisoning attempt.
“My wife didn’t fit the mold of a ‘vulnerable’ user, but she was vulnerable nonetheless. We all are at some point,” he said in a statement released through his attorneys.
“She became someone I no longer recognized. And I became someone she wanted dead. For almost a year, I couldn’t make sense of her actions. Then I read her chat logs. She didn’t act alone.”
Criminal case against wife was dropped
Cheryl Gates was arrested in October 2025 and charged with attempted murder and contaminating food or drink. Prosecutors dropped the charges in April 2026, citing insufficient evidence.
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The civil complaint brings nine claims against OpenAI and Altman, including negligent design, failure to warn and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
OpenAI said it had banned the user and provided information to law enforcement.
“Safety is a top priority. We banned this user and have provided information to law enforcement as part of their investigation into this case,” a company spokesperson told CBS News.
The lawsuit adds to a series of legal challenges facing OpenAI over alleged harm linked to ChatGPT. Other cases have accused the chatbot of providing inappropriate medical guidance, including advice that plaintiffs say contributed to a mental health crisis or discouraged them from seeking treatment for potentially life-threatening symptoms.
