Michelle Ritter’s lawsuit against Eric Schmidt, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in September 2025, accused the former Google CEO of rape, digital surveillance through a Google “backdoor,” and stealing the artificial intelligence venture they built together. The case never reached a jury. A judge sent it to arbitration, and in April 2026 a retired Washington State judge found Ritter’s rape claims false, ruled she had defamed Schmidt, and ordered her to pay him $10.7 million in damages.
How Ritter and Schmidt Were Connected
Ritter met Schmidt in 2020 while she was a graduate student at Columbia, where she earned both a JD and an MBA in 2021.1Columbia Business School. Michelle Ritter, JD ’21, MBA ’21 They began a romantic relationship that lasted roughly five years.2Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million Schmidt, now 70, ran Google as CEO from 2001 to 2011 and remained executive chairman until 2018.3Columbia University SIPA. Eric Schmidt – Distinguished Fellows His net worth is estimated at about $27 billion.4Crain Currency. Eric Schmidt, Google’s Former CEO, Leveraging His $27 Billion Fortune He has been married to Wendy Schmidt for more than four decades.
In 2021, Ritter founded Steel Perlot, an AI-focused investment and platform-building firm. Schmidt served as chairman and reportedly invested as much as $100 million.5Times of India. Failed AI Startup, Access to Mansion and What Google’s Former CEO Eric Schmidt and His Ex-Girlfriend Are Fighting in Court For Steel Perlot put at least $20 million into AI, crypto, and payment-processing companies.6Business Insider. Google CEO Eric Schmidt Invests in Michelle Ritter Company By the time Ritter sued, the company had been renamed Orion Wing LLC.
What Ritter Alleged
Ritter filed Michelle Ritter vs. Eric Schmidt, et al. (Case No. 25STCV26114) on September 8, 2025. The defendants included Schmidt, his family office Hillspire LLC, Orion Wing LLC, Knox Networks Inc., Special Strategies I, LLC, and Google.7Trellis Law. Complaint Filed by Michelle Ritter as to Eric Schmidt, Hillspire LLC, Orion Wing LLC She sought at least $100 million in damages, rescission of an earlier settlement, and a stay of arbitration.8Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor
Rape and Sexual Assault
Ritter accused Schmidt of raping her on a yacht off Mexico in November 2021. In her filing, she said Schmidt “followed me into a shower, slammed me against the wall, and forcibly raped me,” and that she “begged him to stop and cried out that he was hurting me, but he ignored my pleas.”9New York Post. Ex-Mistress of Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Accuses Him of Rape, Creepy Surveillance She also alleged Schmidt forced her into nonconsensual sex at the 2023 Burning Man festival in Nevada.10AOL News. Judge Sends Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit to Arbitration
The Alleged Google Backdoor
The complaint claimed Schmidt used a team of Google engineers to build an insider “backdoor” into Google servers that let him access anyone’s Google account and private information, and that he used this access to spy on Ritter and employees of their company.8Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor Ritter also alleged surveillance through private investigators after the parties reached a 2024 settlement.10AOL News. Judge Sends Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit to Arbitration Google was accused of knowingly failing to stop improper access to her accounts. It did not respond to press inquiries about the allegations, and the claims against the company were effectively on hold once the case moved to arbitration.11Yahoo News. Judge Sends Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit to Arbitration
The Business and Property Dispute
Ritter accused Schmidt of “stealing” Steel Perlot from her. She also sought exclusive access to a 15,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion at 1060 Brooklawn Drive that Schmidt had purchased for $61 million, alleging he locked her out of that property along with homes in Miami, New York, and Aspen.5Times of India. Failed AI Startup, Access to Mansion and What Google’s Former CEO Eric Schmidt and His Ex-Girlfriend Are Fighting in Court For
Schmidt’s Denial
Schmidt categorically denied all sexual assault allegations.12Yahoo News. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Arbitration Ruling His lead attorney, Patricia Glaser of Glaser Weil, called the lawsuit “yet another desperate and destructive effort to publish false and defamatory statements to escape accountability from an existing arbitration”8Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief Accused of Spying on Employees Through Account Backdoor and said Ritter’s claims were “fabricated” and contradicted by her “own words.”13HR Grapevine. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in Court Over Alleged Abuse, Unauthorized Surveillance
Why the Case Was Sent to Arbitration
Before the September 2025 lawsuit, the parties had already reached a written settlement in September 2024, the terms of which remain under seal. Ritter then filed for a domestic violence restraining order in December 2024, which she withdrew on January 6, 2025, after signing a new financial settlement and arbitration agreement.5Times of India. Failed AI Startup, Access to Mansion and What Google’s Former CEO Eric Schmidt and His Ex-Girlfriend Are Fighting in Court For
Ritter argued the arbitration agreement should be voided as unconscionable and the product of “extreme inequality of bargaining power.” She also invoked the 2022 Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, a federal law that bars forced arbitration of sexual assault claims.14MyNewsLA. Former Google Executive Wins Motion to Compel Arbitration
On March 2, 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Small rejected those arguments. He ruled that the 2022 federal law applies only to arbitration agreements signed before the sexual assault claims arise. Because Ritter and Schmidt signed their arbitration agreement in December 2024, after the alleged assaults, the law did not apply. Judge Small also found that Ritter’s surveillance allegations did not “rise to the level of actionable sexual assault or harassment” needed to trigger the federal law.15Los Angeles Times. Former Google Chief’s Spying, Sex Assault Lawsuit Sent to Arbitration
The Arbitration Ruling Against Ritter
The arbitration was handled by retired Washington State Judge Beth Andrus, who spent 13 years on the King County Superior Court and the Washington Court of Appeals before retiring in 2023.16Washington Courts. Judge Beth M. Andrus Biography
On April 29, 2026, Andrus issued an interim ruling in Schmidt’s favor. She found that Ritter “engaged in defamation by falsely and with malice accusing Schmidt of sexual assault and sexual harassment,”12Yahoo News. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Arbitration Ruling and stated: “I find that Ritter’s statement that she was raped by Schmidt to be false.”2Los Angeles Times. Ex-Girlfriend of Former Google CEO Ordered to Pay Him $10 Million Andrus concluded that Ritter’s claims were “advanced to extort and punish Schmidt” and said Ritter “did everything she could possibly do” to avoid discussing the rape allegations under oath. She described Ritter’s conduct as “self-centered efforts to obtain revenge against Schmidt in a way that was more damaging than helpful to her cause.”
Ritter was ordered to pay Schmidt $10.7 million in damages. The ruling was interim, and the damages total is expected to grow when the final decision is issued.12Yahoo News. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Arbitration Ruling
Where the Case Stands
In April 2026, Ritter opened a second front, filing a federal lawsuit in the Central District of California to challenge the arbitration. The case, Michelle Ritter v. Eric Schmidt et al. (Case No. 2:26-cv-04382), was assigned to Judge Jesus G. Bernal and remains active, with procedural filings still underway as of mid-2026.17PACER Monitor. Michelle Ritter v. Eric Schmidt et al