Rapper T.I. and singer Tameka “Tiny” Harris scored a major courtroom win last year in their intellectual property case against MGA Entertainment, securing a $71 million jury award.
But this month, a federal judge slashed that figure down to $18 million — and now the couple may be headed back to court.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, July 8, U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna found the $53.6 million in punitive damages awarded to the couple was “unsupported” by the evidence presented during trial. While the jury found MGA Entertainment liable for infringing on the OMG Girlz’ likeness with its L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls, the judge concluded that the punitive damages were excessive, stating, “the maximum punitive damages award sustainable by the proof is $1.”
“The evidence falls short of showing willfulness, intent, or conscious disregard with respect to MGA’s conduct,” Selna wrote, noting that the court found no clear proof MGA deliberately copied the girl group’s trade dress after becoming aware of them.
T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny now have a choice: accept the reduced award of $18 million — $17.9 million in compensatory damages and $1 in punitive damages — or push for a new trial limited to the punitive damages claim. Their attorney, John Keville, says the couple is likely to reject the new figure.
“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 said in a statement.
The couple released their own statement expressing disappointment with the judge’s ruling but standing firm in their belief that the case represents more than just a business dispute.
“When we took on MGA Entertainment, we stood up for the OMG Girlz but also for something bigger,” they said. “We stood up for every creative who wants to protect their vision and brand from unfair use without recognition and compensation.”
The original lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused MGA Entertainment of misappropriating the image, style, and brand identity of the OMG Girlz — an all-female teen group formed in 2009 by Tiny and including her daughter, Zonnique Pullins, alongside Bahja Rodriguez and Breaunna Womack. The jury sided with the couple in September 2023, finding that more than a dozen L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls infringed on the group’s trade dress.
Following the verdict, Tiny celebrated outside the courthouse, calling the win “a fight for the culture” and thanking jurors for believing in their story.
But MGA pushed back post-trial, arguing it never willfully copied the group’s image. The company’s founder, Isaac Larian, went as far as calling the couple “extortionists” during the proceedings — a claim the Harrises vehemently rejected.
Judge Selna’s ruling explained that while one MGA designer was aware of the OMG Girlz by December 2019, that knowledge did not amount to a deliberate intent to copy.
He noted, “The strong appearance that MGA copied other celebrities does not provide clear and convincing evidence that such was the case for the OMG Girlz.”
T.I. and Tiny have two weeks to decide whether to accept the reduced award or move forward with a new trial focused solely on punitive damages. As of now, MGA Entertainment has not publicly commented on the judge’s ruling.
Regardless of the outcome, the case continues to shine a spotlight on the uphill battle creatives — particularly Black artists and entrepreneurs — often face when defending their intellectual property against corporate giants.
