ATLANTA — A US District Judge has slashed T.I. and Tiny Harris’ $71 million award from MGA Entertainment over their line of L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls down to almost $18 million.
The Harrises were initially awarded $17.8 million in the verdict, plus an additional $53.6 million in punitive damages.
The new ruling says the evidence did not support punitive damages, and the $53.6 million has been reduced to just $1.
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If the Harrises choose not to accept that award, they can pursue a retrial.
In the original lawsuit, the Harrises claimed the dolls “infringed on the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness of the all-female band that T.I. and Tiny formed in 2009.”
In a statement, the Harrises said, “When we took on MGA Entertainment, we stood up for the OMG Girlz but also for something bigger. We stood up for every creative who wants to protect their vision and brand from unfair use without recognition and compensation. The OMG Girlz’ lawsuit shows just how hard it is for creatives, especially Black artists and young entrepreneurs, to protect their intellectual property from billion-dollar corporations. A jury heard weeks of testimony, saw the willful and malicious conduct of MGA, and awarded $71 million in disgorgement of profits and punitive damages. Obviously, we are disappointed that the district court is requiring a new trial on the punitive damages, and thereby reducing the current award to $17.8 million. We are considering options as to next steps—but 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.”
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