DRC Congratulates Trial Team After OpenAI Verdict

According to a GlobeNewswire press release distributed May 18, 2026 and reposted by Business Insider and The Manila Times, DRC congratulated Sarah Eddy, William Savitt, and the trial teams at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Morrison Foerster for their defense of Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, the OpenAI Foundation, and OpenAI Group PBC in Case No. 4:24-cv-04722 (N.D. Cal.). The press release states that, following a three-week trial, the jury deliberated for about ninety minutes and returned a unanimous verdict in favor of OpenAI. The press release reports that the jury found both OpenAI and Microsoft had proven their statute of limitations defense on all claims. Per the press release, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the jury findings and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims from the bench.

The GlobeNewswire text summarizes the plaintiffs' allegations as claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment brought by Elon Musk. The press release states the defense showed no promises were made about OpenAI's non-profit structure, that Musk at one point sought a for-profit conversion, and that the asserted claims were time-barred. The release also describes DRC's role as providing jury research, selection support, trial graphics, at-trial technology, and trial strategy consulting.

Industry context: High-profile litigation involving major AI organisations frequently draws attention to governance structure and contractual history. Observers tracking corporate governance, investor relations, and regulatory scrutiny will note that disposition on statute-of-limitations grounds produces a case outcome without a published merits opinion, which limits the amount of precedent about substantive fiduciary duties in novel AI governance settings.

For practitioners: Legal outcomes that dispose of claims on procedural grounds tend to reduce short-term legal exposure but leave substantive questions unresolved. This pattern can affect how counsel and corporate boards prioritize documentation and timelines around governance changes, and it may shape subsequent litigation strategy in similar disputes.

For practitioners and observers: watch for any post-trial motions, an appeal filing by the plaintiffs, or a written opinion from Judge Gonzalez Rogers that elaborates on the jury findings. Also monitor whether parties or courts publish redacted trial materials that could clarify factual findings relevant to governance and charitable-trust law.