Law and regulation · January 6, 2026
Settlements over harm from chatbots
Character.AI, its founders and Google told five courts they had agreed in principle to settle suits by families: two over the suicides of teenagers, the rest over harm to children from conversations with chatbots.
Why it matters
A dispute over what a model says to one child ended not in a judgment but in a settlement that, by the Texas filing, involves payments.
The lead case is Megan Garcia's suit, filed on 22 October 2024 in federal court in Florida. Her fourteen-year-old son Sewell died on 28 February 2024; he had talked to chatbots since April 2023, among them a character called Daenerys whom he called Dany. The second death was thirteen-year-old Juliana Peralta in Colorado. The other cases are in Texas, Colorado and New York; the girl in the New York case survived a suicide attempt. On 6 January 2026 the courts in Texas, Colorado and New York were told of the agreement, and on 7 January the Florida court, which closed the case that day with leave to reopen. No terms were disclosed and the filings carry no admission; in April 2026 the parties were still finalising the agreements. In Texas the settlement covers one of two plaintiffs: the court had sent the other's claims to arbitration.
Event record
- Event date
- January 6, 2026
- Timeline date
- Event date
- Verification
- Sources gathered automatically · September 27, 2026
- Lines
- ID
- evt-0345
The courts in Texas, Colorado and New York were told of the agreement in principle on 6 January 2026, the Florida court on 7 January.
Sources
- primary Complaint, Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (M.D. Fla. 6:24-cv-01903, ECF 1)
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (via RECAP) · Published October 22, 2024
- primary Notice of Resolution, Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (M.D. Fla., ECF 242)
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (via RECAP) · Published January 7, 2026
- primary Order, Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (M.D. Fla., ECF 244)
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (via RECAP) · Published January 7, 2026
- primary Joint Motion to Stay All Deadlines and Notice of Settlement, A.F. and A.R. v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (E.D. Tex. 2:24-cv-01014, ECF 106)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (via RECAP) · Published January 6, 2026
- primary Unopposed Joint Motion to Stay Case, E.S. and K.S. v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (D. Colo. 1:25-cv-02906, ECF 32)
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (via RECAP) · Published January 6, 2026
- primary Unopposed Joint Motion to Stay Case, Montoya and Peralta v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (D. Colo. 1:25-cv-02907, ECF 31)
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (via RECAP) · Published January 6, 2026
- primary Complaint, Montoya and Peralta v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (D. Colo. 1:25-cv-02907, ECF 1)
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (via RECAP) · Published September 15, 2025
- primary Letter motion to stay, P.J. v. Character Technologies, Inc. et al. (N.D.N.Y. 1:25-cv-01295, ECF 18)
U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York (via RECAP) · Published January 6, 2026
- secondary Character.AI and Google agree to settle lawsuits over teen mental health harms and suicides
CNN · Published January 2026
- secondary Google, Character.AI to settle suits involving suicides, AI chatbots
CNBC · Published January 2026