T.I. performing live. Photo Credit: Carla
With a fourth trial now in the books, T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris have been awarded a whopping $0 in punitive damages in their long-running legal battle with Bratz and Little Tikes maker MGA Entertainment.
A California jury just recently decided on that total following yet another trial in the marathon dispute. We’ve been covering the courtroom confrontation since it kicked off the better part of a decade ago, but the short version is that MGA allegedly incorporated girl group OMG Girlz members’ likenesses into its LOL Surprise! dolls line without authorization.
(Toy industry trades indicate that LOL Surprise! is selling quite well, and as emphasized during the trial, different of the line’s dolls allegedly resemble Elton John, Lady Gaga, and others.)
MGA and its founder have been pushing back against the claims from the outset and scored a trial win in 2023. A Supreme Court ruling then prompted a 2024 trial that saw the jury award the OMG Girlz a cool $71 million or so, including almost $18 million in actual damages (revenue from seven doll releases, that is) and roughly $54 million in punitive damages.
From there, a federal judge slashed the punitive total – the actual-damages payout is still moving forward – and set the stage for the just-wrapped fourth trial. And as mentioned, the jury sided with MGA by opting for a $0 award.
In doing so, the jurors agreed that MGA hadn’t acted with malice when allegedly lifting the OMG Girlz likenesses for use in the relevant doll line. That is, of course, a welcome result for the 47-year-old business, which earlier this week filed to keep the punitive damages determination (“[p]unitive damages here are equitable and should not go to the jury”) out of the jury’s hands altogether.
Today’s outcome aside, the reluctance to dive into a trial certainly made sense for MGA given 2024’s $54 million award. On the opposite side of the dispute, Team T.I. was seeking between $90 million and $125 million (“over double what they requested in the prior trial,” MGA vented) in punitive damages.
With that, they’ll seemingly have to make do with actual damages – plus the advantageous media spotlight shining on the OMG Girlz. Having disbanded in 2015, the act, now boasting nearly 90,000 Spotify monthly listeners, last year put out multiple singles and embarked on a brief Coke-sponsored tour.
