They Won $71 Million... So Why Is The OMG Girlz Lawsuit Going To Trial #4?

[00:00:00]Ti Tiny and the OMG girls are headed back to court for a fourth time over the OMG dolls. And if you're thinking, "Wait, I thought they already won that lawsuit. Didn't they win like $71 million and then TI announced his retirement shortly after?" Well, the answer to that is yes and no. Let me catch you up. Quick refresher in case you need it. This whole situation started back in 2020 when TI Tiny and the OMG girls sent the toy company MGA Entertainment a cease and desist letter over their LOL Surprise OMG dolls. The OMG girls alleged that the dolls copied the group's name, image, likeness, and overall look and infringed upon their trademark rights. MGA, the toy company, disagreed. And in their disagreement, they decided to sue first. They sued Ti Tiny and the OMG girls, not asking for money, but asking for a judge to declare that the dolls did not infringe on the group's rights and that MGA could continue selling them. And in response to MGA suing Ti Tiny and the OMG girls, TI Tiny and the OMG girls sued MGA back.

[00:01:05]And so that's how we got this massive lawsuit. Now, let's talk about how we ended up with four trials. So, trial number one happened in January of 2023, but that trial never finished because one of the witnesses testified about MGA stealing ideas from the black community.

[00:01:20]And because the judge had previously ruled that there would be no testimony about cultural appropriation in the trial, MGA objected to this testimony and a mistrial was declared. So, that's how we got to trial number two, which happened in May of 2023. And in this trial, MGA won. The jury for that trial agreed that the OMG dolls were not an infringement on the OMG girls. And so that was that. Or so they thought. After that verdict, Ti Tiny and the OMG girls appealed and they were granted a new trial. Now, the reason they appealed was based on a Supreme Court case that I won't get into right now, but I did make a video on it when it first happened.

[00:01:58]So, if you want that background, you can go watch. Okay. So, because they won that appeal, that got us to trial number three. And this is the one you probably saw all the headlines for because the OMG girls won that trial. And they won massively. The jury awarded the OMG girls $71 million in damages with more than 53 million of that in punitive damages. And that's important because punitive damages are for punishment.

[00:02:24]It's not to make someone whole, which are typically called compensatory damages and are used for things like medical expenses or money lost. Punitive damages is the jury saying what you did was so malicious or egregious that we are making you pay this other person simply to punish you. And so again, of the $71 million that was awarded, $53 million was the punishment piece.

[00:02:46]However, after that judgment, MGA filed a motion arguing that the $53 million in punitive damages should be thrown out because one, the amount is excessive, and two, because they didn't do this on purpose. And from that motion, the judge agreed. He ruled that the evidence in the trial showed that MGA was negligent, but not that they intentionally and willfully copied the OMG girls. And so, for that reason, he gave TI Tiny and the OMG girls two options. Number one, they could either accept $1 in punitive damages instead of 53 million. Now, who would do that? Or two, they could choose to have a fourth trial specifically for the punitive damages. And to no one's surprise, Ti Tiny and the OMG girls chose a fourth trial. And that is why on June 23rd, this fourth trial will begin.

[00:03:37]And how do y'all think this one is going to go?