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OpenAI asks California court to dismiss lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting

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Cite

Proctor, J. (2026, September 17). OpenAI asks California court to dismiss lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/openai-shooting-court-dismiss-9.7348748?cmp=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

CBC News · collected 2026-09-17 · by Jason Proctor

Quick Summary

OpenAI has asked a California court to dismiss lawsuits filed by victims and families of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, which occurred on February 10. The company argues that since the incident took place in British Columbia, legal proceedings should also occur there rather than in California where OpenAI is based. Lawyers for OpenAI claim the cases should be moved to a B.C. court due to the location of evidence and witnesses, as well as the interests involved being primarily Canadian.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

OpenAI filed motions with a California court in late September 2023 to dismiss over three dozen lawsuits related to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, arguing that British Columbia would be the appropriate venue for these cases under legal doctrine called "forum non conveniens." Survivors and families of victims from the tragic event, which occurred on April 4, 2023, in British Columbia, claim that OpenAI and its CEO could have prevented the shooting. OpenAI asserts it will defend against what it deems as "baseless accusations" but maintains that a B.C. court is more suitable for the case due to both evidence accessibility and interest of the parties involved. The tech giant's stance aims to redirect the legal proceedings back to British Columbia, where the incident took place.

Written for “OpenAI Legal Dispute” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 OpenAI Legal Dispute
Other · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 47% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses OpenAI's request to dismiss lawsuits in California, while Article B reports on a Canadian province suing OpenAI over the Tumbler Ridge shooting. These are different legal actions occurring at distinct times.”
Global News
Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 63/100
“Article A discusses OpenAI's request for a U.S. court to dismiss lawsuits related to the Tumbler Ridge shooting, while Article B reports on an upcoming legal update by British Columbia's attorney general regarding their legal action against OpenAI over the same incident.”
The Globe and Mail
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 52/100
“The articles describe different legal actions: one about OpenAI asking a court to dismiss lawsuits filed by survivors and families, while the other is about the B.C. government filing its own lawsuit against OpenAI.”
The Guardian
Hedges 6 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different legal actions: one is about OpenAI asking a California court to dismiss lawsuits over the Tumbler Ridge shooting, while the other reports on British Columbia suing OpenAI in California for the same incident.”
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 63/100
“Article A discusses OpenAI's motion to dismiss lawsuits filed in California, while Article B reports on British Columbia suing OpenAI in a US court. These describe related legal actions but distinct events.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
47%
8 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
60/100
CBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBC News · 775 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jason Proctor
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Tech giant argues British Columbia is best place for legal battle over mass shooting responsibility OpenAI wants a U.S. judge to dismiss more than three dozen lawsuits filed in California by survivors and families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting who claim the tech giant and its chief executive officer could have prevented the tragedy. In motions to dismiss some of the 37 U.S. federal court actions, lawyers for OpenAI claim any legal action related to the deaths and injuries should take place in British Columbia.
🔮 'We will rule in CANADA':
Also by Jason Proctor
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

British Columbia California ChatGPT OpenAI U.S.

Subjects

OpenAI ORG · 10× British Columbia GPE · 9× California GPE · 5× Canadian NORP · 3× Altman PERSON · 2× U.S. GPE · 2× B.C. GPE · 1× British Columbians NORP · 1× Jesse Van Rootselaar PERSON · 1× a British Columbian NORP · 1×

Narrative

'Forum non conveniens' OpenAI has filed identical motions to dismiss a number of the suits over the past two weeks, citing a legal concept called "forum non conveniens" to argue that British Columbia is the logical place to bring any legal action related to the Tumbler Ridge shooting.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 Tech giant argues British Columbia is best place for legal battle over mass shooting responsibility OpenAI wants a U.S. judge to dismiss more than three dozen lawsuits filed in California by survivors and families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting who claim the tech giant and its chief executive officer could have prevented the tragedy. In motions to dismiss some of the 37 U.S. federal court actions, lawyers for OpenAI claim any legal action related to the deaths and injuries should take place in British Columbia.

Claims (17 extracted, 8 hedged)

OpenAI asks California court to dismiss lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting asserted
OpenAI → ask → shooting
Tech giant argues British Columbia is best place for legal battle over mass shooting responsibility OpenAI wants a U.S. judge to dismiss more than three dozen lawsuits filed in California by survivors and families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting who claim the tech giant and its chief executive officer could have prevented the tragedy. In motions to dismiss some of the 37 U.S. federal court actions, lawyers for OpenAI claim any legal action related to the deaths and injuries should take place in British Columbia. uncertain
action → argue → Columbia
The company says it will ultimately defend itself against what it calls "baseless accusations" but insists both private and public interests would be best served by putting the case in front of a B.C. judge. asserted
interests → say → judge
"California is not the most appropriate forum for claims by British Columbians attacked by a British Columbian in British Columbia," the motion to dismiss reads. uncertain
motion → attack → Columbia
"British Columbia plainly is an available and adequate alternative forum, so the key questions ... are where the parties can access evidence and which forum has the greater interest. asserted
forum → access → interest
On Feb. 10, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed eight people — including six children — before taking her own life. asserted
Rootselaar → kill → life
Questions about the shooter's interactions with the health care system and police arose in the wake of the tragedy — turning to OpenAI after news reports about Van Rootselaar's use of ChatGPT. The first lawsuits filed against OpenAI and CEO Altman were filed last spring in California, where the company is headquartered, with another wave of claims following earlier this month. The claims alleged "ChatGPT played a role in the mass shooting and OpenAI could have, and should have, prevented it." The victims claim the company flagged the shooter's ChatGPT account for "gun violence and planning" eight months before the attack, but "after a contentious internal debate, made the conscious decision not to warn authorities." They claim to be suing both Altman and his company "for designing a dangerous product, ignoring the warnings of their own safety team, refusing to notify authorities when they knew the shooter was planning a mass attack, inviting them back onto the platform after deactivating their account, and choosing profit over the lives of the children of Tumbler Ridge. uncertain
shooter → arise → Ridge
'Forum non conveniens' OpenAI has filed identical motions to dismiss a number of the suits over the past two weeks, citing a legal concept called "forum non conveniens" to argue that British Columbia is the logical place to bring any legal action related to the Tumbler Ridge shooting. asserted
Columbia → file → shooting
The company says most of the evidence in the case is in British Columbia as are most of the people likely to serve as witnesses. asserted
most → say → witnesses
OpenAI also says B.C has a "uniquely strong sovereign interest in having these actions resolved at home." asserted
actions → say → home
The motion to dismiss claims the court actions will require an examination of the role of "Canadian law enforcement, firearms regulations and British Columbia institutions in the events that preceded the shooting." OpenAI says the actions would overlap "with Canada’s ongoing examination of its own institutions and policy choices." " uncertain
actions → dismiss → institutions
The jury may need to determine, among other questions, whether Canadian law enforcement acted reasonably in returning guns to the home of a mentally unstable teenager who had recently committed arson in an attempt to kill her family and had repeatedly been involuntarily hospitalized under British Columbia’s mental health legislation," the court document reads. uncertain
document → need → legislation
"The standard of care may turn on Canadian and British Columbia statutes and community practices — which differ from those in California. uncertain
which → turn → California
Wherever the lawsuits eventually take place, OpenAI says it intends to fight the allegations. asserted
it → take → allegations
"[The] legal claims — blaming OpenAI for a horrific mass shooting by a deeply troubled teenager after systemic failures by the law enforcement, mental-health care, and educational institutions in her community — are not viable" the motion to dismiss says. uncertain
motion → blame → community
"Nor are the claims against Samuel Altman, who was not personally involved in the June 2025 review of the shooter’s ChatGPT account or the decision at that time not to refer her account to Canadian law enforcement." In the wake of revelations about the shooter's ChatGPT history, Altman apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community and said the company has updated its protocols. uncertain
company → involve → protocols
The B.C. government is also planning legal action against OpenAI, and has since demolished the site of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. asserted
government → plan → School
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