Jury Rejects T.I. and Tiny’s Punitive Damages Bid Against MGA in OMG Girlz Doll Case

A years-long legal battle between rapper T.I., his wife Tameka "Tiny" Harris, and toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment reached another setback for the couple this week. A jury delivered its verdict Wednesday in the fourth trial connected to the case, declining to award any punitive damages after determining that MGA had not acted with malice.

The trial was an attempt by T.I. and Harris to recover a portion of the $53.6 million in punitive damages that a California judge had previously struck down. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna last year rejected that portion of a 2024 jury verdict, describing it as lacking sufficient evidentiary support. With Wednesday’s jury declining to reinstate any punitive damages, the couple’s total recovery in the case remains fixed at $17.9 million, the amount awarded in compensatory damages by a separate jury nearly two years prior.

Wednesday's decision represents the latest development in a legal saga stretching back to 2020, when T.I. and Harris, who created and own the girl group OMG Girlz, first took action against MGA. The dispute centers on allegations that the toy company built a line of dolls modeled directly on the group without authorization.

At the third trial, held in September 2024, a jury sided with T.I. and Harris, finding that MGA had misappropriated the group’s name, likeness and overall identity in developing seven dolls within its popular L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. product line.

That same jury concluded MGA had acted with malice, determining the company knowingly replicated distinctive elements associated with the OMG Girlz, including their signature neon-colored hair and clothing style. The real-life group is composed of Zonnique "Star" Pullins, Harris’s daughter, along with members Bahja "Beauty" Rodriguez and Breaunna "Babydoll" Womack.

During the third trial, attorneys for T.I. and Harris argued that MGA had designed several dolls to closely mirror how OMG Girlz members appeared at specific, well-documented public appearances. MGA disputed the claims throughout, and the company’s founder, billionaire Isaac Larian, testified that neither T.I., Harris, nor any of the OMG Girlz members had any involvement in designing the dolls.

The case’s first trial, which began in January 2023, ended in a mistrial after jurors were exposed to testimony that had been ruled inadmissible, including claims accusing MGA of cultural appropriation. A second trial held months later initially cleared MGA of any wrongdoing, but that outcome was later overturned on appeal following a Supreme Court decision that shifted how courts weigh evidence related to consumer confusion in trademark-style disputes.

Attorneys representing T.I. and Harris expressed disappointment with Wednesday’s outcome while thanking jurors for their time. In a statement, the lawyers argued that a previous jury had already found evidence of malice sufficient to justify punitive damages and suggested that this jury might have reached a similar conclusion had it been presented with the full three weeks of evidence the earlier jury heard.

The attorneys also contended that MGA’s internal policies were insufficient to prevent the type of intellectual property infringement at the center of the case and raised concerns about the company’s document retention practices. They said the fight on behalf of their clients and other creatives would continue. MGA’s legal representatives did not immediately comment following the verdict.

Following the original $71.5 million verdict, both T.I. and Harris spoke publicly about feeling vindicated, framing the win as validation of their persistence in defending their intellectual property against a major corporation.

The ruling leaves T.I. and Harris with the $17.9 million compensatory award from the 2024 verdict, while ending their renewed attempt to recover punitive damages from MGA. The dispute has now moved through four trials since the couple first sued over the dolls in 2020.