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T.I. and Tameka "Tiny" Harris will receive the full amount of their earnings from the OMG Girlz lawsuit after a judge recently put the payment in jeopardy.
On Monday, February 3, Judge James V. Selna awarded the couple the entire $71 million they were promised after they won their lawsuit against toymaker MGA Entertainment last year. A jury found the toy company guilty of infringing upon "the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness" of the Harris' girl group OMG Girlz when they made their L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls. Several months after the verdict was read, Judge Selna considered a motion to reduce the payment to $17.8 million.
"Upon consideration of the evidence, the Court grants disgorgement of profits of $17,872,252 under common law misappropriation, but does not award punitive damages," Judge Selna wrote last month.
The Harris family initially accused MGA of using the likeness of their girl group, which they founded in 2009, to create their LOL Surprise! OMG Dolls without "any compensation, recognition or consent." MGA reportedly had plans to launch a line of dolls inspired by the girl group but never finalized any deals with Harris' Pretty Hustle or T.I.'s Grand Hustle. MGA debuted their OMG Dolls in 2019, which looked almost identical to the OMG Girlz.
After a lengthy legal battle, T.I. and Tiny finally won the lawsuit in September. They earned $17,872,359 in damages plus $53,616,759 in punitive damages. MGA responded by filing a motion for a disgorgement of profits, which is used to prevent "unjust enrichment" according to Cornell Law School. Judge Selna considered it because he believed there wasn't enough evidence to show bad faith on MGA's part. However, the judge decided to rule in the Harris' favor.
“Don’t play with God’s children! So thankful & grateful to our amazing law team," Tiny wrote in an Instagram Story. She also shouted out the members of OMG Girlz, her daughter Zonnique Pullins, Bahja Rodriguez and Breaunna Womack. They will also get a piece of the judgment payment.