Photo Credit: Nathan Dumlao
A federal judge considers slashing T.I. and Tiny Harris’ lucrative payout against doll line LOL Surprise! OMG from $71.4 million to $17 million.
T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris sued toy company MGA Entertainment last year with allegations the LOL Surprise! OMG line of blind box dolls violated their intellectual property. After being awarded $17.8 million in real damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages — over $70 million overall — a federal judge may be slashing that number by a significant amount.
In a new filing, Judge James Selna suggested there is not enough evidence to prove that the toymaker acted in bad faith to therefore be required to pay punitive damages. The judge voiced the prospect of reducing the amount MGA Entertainment would be required to pay the Harris family by 75 percent, or over $53 million.
“There’s a lot to contemplate. I want to put this down for a couple days, and I want to come back to it fresh from the top,” said the judge in a statement to journalist Meghann Cuniff, confirming he has yet to make a final decision.
In their lawsuit, T.I. and Tiny accused MGA Entertainment of copying the likeness of their girl group, OMG Girlz. The ruling found seven of the dolls in the product line copied the group’s likeness. The couple’s daughter, Star, who was a member of the group, testified during the hearing, along with her bandmates.
“[They were] trying to paint me as the bad guy when really, they were the [bad] ones,” said T.I. in a statement to Rolling Stone after the case reached its initial conclusion. “They were the ones that came and ripped us off, and [they] expected us to not have the audacity to stand up and speak for ourselves.”
T.I. and Tiny also accused the toymaker of bullying them during the legal dispute, which MGA has denied. The company also denied allegations of copyright infringement, calling the couple “extortionists.”