Atlanta rapper Clifford ‘T.I.’ Harris and spouse Tameka ‘Tiny’ Harris may be headed to yet another jury trial against a toy company they accuse of ripping off their OMG Girlz pop group.
In the latest development in a case that’s been running for five years, a federal court judge in California reduced the award a jury granted to T.I., Tiny and OMG Girlz last fall by three quarters.
The jury had awarded the artists $17.8 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages, for a total award of around $71.5 million. In an order issued on Tuesday (July 8), Judge James V. Selna reduced the punitive damages to $1, effectively cutting the total award by 75%.
Judge Selna ruled that the jury’s awarding of punitive damages was incorrect because the artists’ lawyers had not proven that toy company MGA Entertainment’s infringement was “willful.”
Per the judge’s order, T.I. and Tiny now have the choice of accepting the lowered award, or requesting a new jury trial. They have two weeks to file a response with the court.
It’s unclear which option the artists will choose, but Judge Selna, in his order, which can be read in full here, noted that in earlier oral arguments, the artists had said they would reject a reduced payment and go back before a jury.
The legal battle began in 2020, when T.I. and Tiny accused MGA Entertainment of ripping off the girl group they had developed and launched, OMG Girlz, with a line of toy dolls dubbed LOL Surprise! OMG, which MGA launched in 2019. They said the dolls clearly copied the OMG Girlz’ fashion and hairstyles.
Following a cease-and-desist letter from T.I. and Tiny’s lawyers, MGA Entertainment sued the artists in 2020, alleging that their claim that the OMG dolls infringed on OMG Girlz had damaged their business. T.I. and Tiny countersued in 2021, accusing MGA of infringement of copyright.
This led to no fewer than three jury trials. The first, held in early 2023, ended with Judge Selna declaring a mistrial, after jurors heard an argument that MGA’s actions amounted to “cultural appropriation” of Black culture – an argument that the judge barred from the jury trial.
“There was no reliable evidence that MGA had any knowledge of the group’s trade dress or desire to use their likeness to create the infringing dolls.”
Judge James V. Selna
The second trial, held later in 2023, ended with a victory for MGA. However, the artists’ were given leave to re-try the case after a US Supreme Court ruling – in an unrelated case – which limited the freedom of expression defense in IP infringement cases.
The third trial, held over three weeks in September 2024, saw MGA’s founder, Isaac Larian, testify that that OMG Girlz played no role in the development of the LOL Surprise! OMG dolls, and called the three members of OMG Girlz “extortionists.”
The trial ended with the jury siding with the artists and awarding them the $71.5 million.
In his order overturning that award, Judge Selna wrote that while MGA’s designers “lost credibility” during the trial when they tried to “explain away” obvious similarities between their dolls and certain celebrities – for instance, a doll called Piano King that “clearly looks like Elton John” – the evidence still “falls short of clear and convincing” when it comes to the OMG Girlz.
“There was no reliable evidence that MGA had any knowledge of the group’s trade dress or desire to use their likeness to create the infringing dolls,” Judge Selna wrote.
“The strong appearance that MGA copied other celebrities does not provide clear and convincing evidence that such was the case for the OMG Girlz.”
Under these circumstances, per California law, an award of punitive damages is inappropriate, the judge concluded. “Therefore, the jury’s verdict on punitive damages cannot be sustained.”
“If in the end there is another mini-trial on just the punitive damages, we expect another jury will be similarly offended by MGA’s maliciousness and copying.”
John Keville, Sheppard Mullin
A lawyer for the artists, John Keville of law firm Sheppard Mullin, told Rolling Stone in a statement that T.I. and Tiny plan to “reject” the $1 in punitive damages and the legal team are “considering [their] options as to next steps.”
However, “if in the end there is another mini-trial on just the punitive damages, we expect another jury will be similarly offended by MGA’s maliciousness and copying,” Keville stated.
“The court’s order confirms what the jury found, that there was more than sufficient evidence to find MGA wrongly misappropriated and infringed the OMG Girlz’ rights.”
The OMG Girlz were formed in 2009, composed of Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack, and Tiny’s daughter, Zonnique “Star” Pullins.
The group disbanded in 2015, but reunited in 2023, releasing Lover Boy, their first single in over a decade. In 2024 they toured with Xscape and SWV as part of the Queens of R&B Tour, and in March of this year they released a follow-up single, Make a Scene.Music Business Worldwide
