Bryant v Microsoft Corporation
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Bryant v. Microsoft Corporation is a proposed class action by ChatGPT subscribers who allege Microsoft's cloud-compute agreement with OpenAI restricted competition and raised subscription prices while reducing service quality. The plaintiffs sued Microsoft, not OpenAI, under federal and California antitrust and unfair-competition law. The allegations are contested and no class certification or liability finding is established by the September 28, 2026 order.[1]
Complaint and motions
The complaint filed October 13, 2025 alleges that Microsoft obtained an exclusive position supplying OpenAI with computing capacity, limiting OpenAI's ability to obtain other compute and allegedly causing consumers to pay more for ChatGPT. The plaintiffs seek relief under section 1 of the Sherman Act, California's Cartwright Act and the Unfair Competition Law.[2][1] Microsoft moved to compel arbitration under OpenAI's user terms or to dismiss the complaint.[1]
September 2026 ruling
On September 28, Judge P. Casey Pitts denied Microsoft's motion to compel arbitration. The subscribers' antitrust theory concerns Microsoft's separate arrangement with OpenAI rather than enforcement of the subscribers' OpenAI user agreement, so Microsoft could not compel arbitration by equitable estoppel on the record presented.[1]
The court dismissed the federal Sherman Act claim without prejudice because the subscribers had not adequately alleged the kind of market-wide antitrust injury required under that statute. It gave them 28 days, through October 26, to file an amended complaint. The court denied dismissal of the California Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law claims, finding the state-law allegations sufficient at the pleading stage. Those rulings assess the pleaded claims; they do not determine whether Microsoft's conduct actually violated antitrust law.[1]