The legal fight between Eric Schmidt and Michelle Ritter ended in arbitration with a ruling against Ritter: retired Washington State Judge Beth Andrus found her sexual assault accusations against the former Google CEO to be false and ordered her to pay him $10.7 million in damages. The Eric Schmidt and Michelle Ritter lawsuit, made public in June 2026, closed the main chapter of a dispute that began as a roughly $100 million business partnership and grew into claims of rape, surveillance, and corporate theft, all of which Schmidt denied.1Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million Ritter has since taken the fight to federal court.
The Arbitrator’s Ruling
Andrus issued a preliminary ruling in Schmidt’s favor that became public in early June 2026. “I find that Ritter’s statement that she was raped by Schmidt to be false,” she wrote. The arbitrator added that Ritter did “everything she could possibly do” to avoid discussing the rape accusations under oath and concluded that she “engaged in self-centered efforts to obtain revenge against Schmidt in a way that was more damaging than helpful to her cause.”1Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million
Andrus ordered Ritter to pay Schmidt $10.7 million. Available reporting does not specify whether the amount reflects defamation, breach of contract, or another legal theory, or whether it includes attorney fees or punitive damages.1Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million
What Ritter Accused Schmidt Of
Ritter filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court in September 2025. She accused Schmidt of forcibly raping her on a yacht off the coast of Mexico in 2021 and of forcing her to have nonconsensual sex at the Burning Man festival in 2023. The complaint also accused him of stealing the Steel Perlot venture from her.1Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million
A November 2025 filing widened the claims. Ritter alleged that Schmidt, working with a team of Google engineers, had built a “backdoor” into Google servers that let him access anyone’s Google account and monitor her emails, texts, and documents. She said she watched emails and documents get deleted or altered in real time. She further alleged he installed spyware on her computer in November 2021, planted hidden cameras and listening devices in her Los Angeles home in the summer of 2024, and hired private investigators to follow her parents. She also claimed Schmidt broke into her car at a Malibu restaurant in November 2024 and stole her laptop.2New York Post. Ex-Mistress of Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Accuses Him of Rape, Creepy Surveillance
The surveillance suit named Google as a co-defendant, accusing the company of “knowingly acquiescing in, failing to remedy, and materially assisting the unauthorized access” into Ritter’s accounts. Google did not respond to press requests for comment and was not served with the lawsuit.3Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor
Schmidt’s Response
Schmidt denied every allegation. His attorney, Patricia Glaser, called the claims “the latest desperate and destructive effort to publish false and defamatory statements” and a “blatant abuse of the judicial system” intended to “smear and defame” Schmidt. His legal team framed the entire dispute as a commercial matter, accused Ritter of “compulsive lying” and attempting to “extort” him, and pushed to move everything into private arbitration.3Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor2New York Post. Ex-Mistress of Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Accuses Him of Rape, Creepy Surveillance
Why the Case Went to Arbitration
The procedural turning point was a settlement and arbitration agreement the two signed in December 2024. Ritter had filed for a domestic violence restraining order that month, then withdrew it after reaching the financial deal. She later argued the agreement was “unconscionable” and signed under “extreme inequality of bargaining power,” alleging it was fraudulently induced and that she withdrew the restraining order under duress.3Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor4Yahoo News. Judge Sends Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit to Arbitration
Ritter tried to keep the case in open court by invoking the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, a 2022 federal law inspired by the #MeToo movement that limits forced arbitration in sexual misconduct cases. In March 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Small rejected the argument. He ruled that the federal law applies only to arbitration agreements signed before the alleged misconduct occurred, and the Ritter–Schmidt agreement was signed in December 2024, after the alleged assaults in 2021 and 2023.5MyNewsLA. Former Google Executive Wins Motion to Compel Arbitration Judge Small also found that the surveillance allegations did not “rise to the level of actionable sexual assault or harassment” required to trigger the law.6Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit Sent to Arbitration The case was sent to arbitration, which produced the June 2026 ruling.
Ritter’s Federal Challenge
In April 2026, Ritter filed a federal lawsuit in the Central District of California (Case No. 2:26-cv-04382), assigned to Judge Jesus G. Bernal, challenging the enforceability of the arbitration agreement. The suit invokes the same 2022 federal law that Judge Small found inapplicable. As of mid-June 2026, the federal case remained active, with recent filings including notices of appearance by counsel and a stipulated extension for defendant Wells Fargo Bank to respond.7PACER Monitor. Michelle Ritter v. Eric Schmidt et al A post-arbitration status conference in the Los Angeles Superior Court matter is scheduled for March 2027.5MyNewsLA. Former Google Executive Wins Motion to Compel Arbitration
How the Two Ended Up in Court
Schmidt, now 71, ran Google as CEO from 2001 to 2011 and later served as Alphabet’s executive chairman before leaving in 2019. Forbes puts his net worth at roughly $40.7 billion.8Forbes. Eric Schmidt Profile Ritter, roughly four decades his junior, earned a JD and MBA from Columbia University in 2021.9Columbia Business School. Michelle Ritter, JD ’21, MBA ’21 The two met through a law school connection around 2020, and the professional relationship became romantic. They were publicly linked in July 2021 at Virgin Galactic’s rocket plane launch in New Mexico.10Business Insider. Google CEO Eric Schmidt Invests in Michelle Ritter Company Schmidt remains married to Wendy Schmidt, his wife of over 45 years; the New York Post described the arrangement as an “open marriage.”11New York Post. Eric Schmidt’s Scorned Girlfriend’s Lawsuit Brings Playboy Lifestyle Into Focus
Together they launched Steel Perlot, a startup accelerator focused on artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and other technology ventures. Schmidt served as executive chairman and invested about $100 million; Ritter ran it as CEO. The finances were muddled early. Ritter had told reporters the firm managed $450 million from institutional and individual backers, then later clarified the institutional money was only a preliminary letter of intent. By January 2023, Steel Perlot had asked Schmidt’s family office, Hillspire LLC, for nearly $2.5 million to cover payroll and credit card debts.10Business Insider. Google CEO Eric Schmidt Invests in Michelle Ritter Company The personal relationship deteriorated in 2024. The disputes over the venture, the December 2024 settlement, and Ritter’s lawsuits followed.