T.I. and Tiny Harris noticed their $71 million courtroom win in opposition to toy large MGA Entertainment tossed out Tuesday (July 8) after a federal choose dominated they didn’t show the corporate deliberately copied their woman group, OMG Girlz.

U.S. District Judge James V. Selna acknowledged that jurors had “substantial evidence with which to find that MGA misappropriated the OMG Girlz’ identity” however stated the Harrises didn’t meet the authorized bar for punitive damages. The determination wipes out the multimillion-dollar award and units the stage for a brand new trial.

“These pieces [of evidence], when put together, establish just one passing reference to the OMG Girlz in MGA internal emails and one image of a single band member on one product designer’s Pinterest board that also contained over 1,200 similar fashion-related images,” Selna wrote in his ruling. “This is not clear and convincing evidence of willful infringement or conscious disregard for the rights of others.”

Selna additionally identified that MGA’s conduct wasn’t “reprehensible,” the OMG Girlz suffered minimal emotional misery and the Harrises are “not financially vulnerable.” He provided the couple the choice to just accept a symbolic $1 in punitive damages as an alternative of retrying the case. They declined and are reportedly transferring ahead with a full retrial.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused MGA of lifting the likeness and magnificence of the OMG Girlz for its L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls with out permission. The unique jury sided with the Harrises, awarding them $71 million in damages earlier than the choose’s reversal.

Meanwhile, the couple can also be coping with renewed public scrutiny after former affiliate Sabrina Peterson resurfaced intercourse trafficking allegations on Instagram earlier this month. Peterson, who has beforehand accused the couple of misconduct, posted a number of messages geared toward them.

T.I. appeared to reply not directly in a video shared on-line, saying, “Yeah, mane, I’m just out here, man. Just thinking how beautiful it is today, man. You know, it’s a beautiful day to not be a buster, man, it’s a beautiful day to not hate on nobody. It’s a beautiful day to not spread lies and to not be negative. It’s a beautiful day, man, to mind your business, it’s a beautiful day, bruh. God has blessed us with this beautiful day. Don’t take it for granted, don’t take this beautiful day for granted.”

He continued, “Don’t be out here spreading propaganda just because you unhappy with your life and yourself. Man, God has blessed you too, man. He got your blessings. Don’t look to nobody else or point blame at somebody else because you ain’t reached or tapped into your blessings yet. They’re coming, alright?”

The retrial date has but to be scheduled.

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