The jury in Santa Ana, California, found on Wednesday (July 1) that MGA had not acted with malice, effectively handing a fourth courtroom loss to T.I. and Tiny Harris. After nearly six years of litigation over whether toy giant MGA Entertainment copied their girl group OMG Girlz with L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls, the couple walked away with $17.9 million in compensatory damages that a separate jury awarded in September 2024—and zero in the punitive damages they desperately wanted back.
Here’s the wild part: this is the FOURTH trial. The verdict came in the fourth trial of a legal fight that began in 2020 and has run for nearly six years. The couple originally won a $71.5 million jury award in September 2024, including $17.9 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages. But in July 2025, Judge Selna cut the punitive award to $1, ruling that the couple had not shown “clear and convincing evidence” that the infringement was willful. T.I. and Tiny said hell no to a buck, so they went back to court.
T.I. and Tiny rejected the reduced figure, which set up the fourth trial on the question of punitive damages alone. Last week’s jury sided with MGA—meaning the $17.9 million compensatory award stands, but the couple’s bid to punish the billionaire toy company for allegedly knowingly stealing from creatives went nowhere. Lawyers for the couple, led by John Keville, Chante Westmoreland and Robert Green, confirmed the result in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We appreciate the jury’s time and consideration but are disappointed in the verdict,” the lawyers told Rolling Stone.
The case traces back to 2020. MGA launched its L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. doll line in 2019, and T.I. and Tiny have said they learned of it only when fans pointed out the resemblance to OMG Girlz. The couple’s lawyers sent MGA a cease-and-desist letter in December 2020. MGA responded by suing them first, asking a court to declare that its dolls did not infringe the group’s rights. T.I. and Tiny, together with their OMG Girlz and Grand Hustle companies, countersued in 2021 over the trade dress and the name, image and likeness of the group.
What’s the girl group in question? OMG Girlz was formed in 2009 and features Tiny’s daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins, alongside Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack. The group disbanded in 2015 and reunited in 2023, touring with Xscape and SWV on the Queens of R&B Tour during the litigation and releasing the singles Lover Boy and Make a Scene. That reunion while actively fighting a billion-dollar toy company? That’s the kind of resilience T.I. and Tiny were counting on to sway jurors.
The first trial, in early 2023, ended in a mistrial after jurors heard an argument that MGA’s conduct amounted to “cultural appropriation,” which Judge James V. Selna had barred. A second trial later in 2023 cleared MGA, but that verdict was set aside after a 2023 US Supreme Court ruling narrowed the free-speech defense in trademark cases. The third trial, in September 2024, was supposed to be the win that stuck—a jury found $17.9 million in actual damages, matching the profits from the seven dolls, plus $53.6 million in punitive damages. But the Ninth Circuit declined to take up MGA’s attempt to appeal the retrial order in January, and the fourth trial opened last month.
MGA, based in Chatsworth, California, is the company behind Bratz, Little Tikes and the L.O.L. Surprise! franchise. The company is massive—and they fought tooth and nail. The couple’s lawyers sent MGA a cease-and-desist letter in December 2020. MGA responded by suing them first, asking a court to declare that its dolls did not infringe the group’s rights. Even after three jury verdicts and a Supreme Court ruling that should’ve stacked the deck in T.I. and Tiny’s favor, the fourth jury wasn’t swayed by punitive damages claims.
The 16BARS take: T.I. and Tiny proved MGA copied OMG Girlz—a jury confirmed it—but the legal system found a way to make that proof worth almost nothing in real punishment. After millions spent on lawyers and four trials, they’re left with $17.9M while the toy giant moves on with the most popular doll line in the world. This ain’t justice; it’s a masterclass in how corporations outlawyer creatives.
