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Garcia v. Character Technologies consumer protection case

US District Court, Middle District of Florida · 6:24-cv-01903 · filed Oct 22, 2024 · Settled

Megan Garcia alleges Character.AI's chatbot drew her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III into an abusive relationship that contributed to his suicide; Google was also named.

The case

Plaintiffs
Megan Garcia
Defendants
Character.AI, Google
Court
US District Court, Middle District of Florida
Docket
6:24-cv-01903
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Status
SettledCharacter.AI and Google agreed in January 2026 to settle this and related family suits; settlement pending.
Outcome
In May 2025 the court rejected the argument that chatbot output is protected speech at the dismissal stage; the parties later agreed to settle.

History

2 dated entries
DateEntry
Jun 11Order: ORDER denying as moot 250 Motion to Strike
Oct 22, 2024Filing: Complaint filed: Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc.
WhenCase
Oct 2Joint proposed final judgment due in 7dnext dateUnited States v. Google (ad tech)Joint proposed final judgment dueDecidedAntitrustE.D. Va.
Oct 8Oral Argument in 13dnext dateHachette Book Group v. GoogleOral ArgumentActiveCopyrightS.D. N.Y.
Oct 13Motion Hearing in 18dnext dateGoogle v. SerpApiMotion HearingActiveContractN.D. Cal.
Oct 13Notice is hereby given that the Settlement Conference previo in 18dnext dateFTC v. Uber (Uber One subscriptions)Notice is hereby given that the Settlement Conference previoActiveConsumer protectionN.D. Cal.
Oct 15Initial Case Management Conference in 20dnext dateEVOX Productions v. GoogleInitial Case Management ConferenceActiveCopyrightN.D. Cal.
Nov 5Motion to Dismiss Hearing in 41dnext dateA.C. v. Altman (Tumbler Ridge)Motion to Dismiss HearingActiveConsumer protectionN.D. Cal.
Nov 6Motion to Dismiss Hearing in 42dnext dateKahn v. AnthropicMotion to Dismiss HearingActiveConsumer protectionN.D. Cal.
Dec 2Further Case Management Conference in 68dnext dateGavalas v. Google (Gemini)Further Case Management ConferenceActiveConsumer protectionN.D. Cal.
Caption and links

Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc.

Full docket on CourtListener

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