San Francisco, CA – A California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday brought by consumers alleging privacy violations by Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI LP’s products. The judge criticized the complaint as “excessive” and filled with “unnecessary and distracting allegations,” making it “nearly impossible” to determine the adequacy of the claims.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria granted Microsoft’s and OpenAI’s motions to dismiss but allowed the consumer plaintiffs, led by Marilyn Cousart, an opportunity to amend their claims. “Because the court has no way of telling whether the plaintiffs could adequately state a claim once all the mud is scraped off the walls of the complaint, dismissal is with leave to amend,” Judge Chhabria stated. He warned that if the amended complaint continues to include irrelevant information, it will be dismissed with prejudice.
The judge also expressed doubts about the plaintiffs’ ability to represent absent class members adequately and responsibly, given the current state of the complaint. The consumers have three weeks to file an amended complaint and are represented by attorneys from Morgan & Morgan PA and Clarkson Law Firm PC.
