A federal judge is reportedly considering significantly reducing a multimillion-dollar settlement previously awarded to Clifford “T.I.” Harris and Tameka “Tiny” Harris.

Multiple reports indicate that the judge is contemplating lowering the $71 million settlement to $17.8 million due to insufficient evidence that MGA acted in bad faith, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Last year, a jury awarded the Atlanta couple $71 million after a lengthy legal battle with MGA concerning the alleged misappropriation of their likeness in its popular ‘L.O.L. (Li’l Outrageous Littles) Surprise Dolls line, as reported by AFROTECH™.

“Jurors reportedly agree that ‘L.O.L. Surprise! OMG dolls’ infringed on the trade dress and misappropriated the name, image, and likeness of the all-female group that T.I. and Tiny formed,” AFROTECH™ reported.

During the weeks-long trial, lawyers pointed out seven MGA Dolls with appearances uncanny to the singers at “very specific public events.” Tiny’s oldest daughter, Zonnique Pullins, appeared to be the inspiration for one of the company’s designs.

The court has not yet made a final ruling on punitive damages, Fox 5 reported.

T.I. and Tiny founded the OMG Girlz group in 2009, according to AFROTECH™. The group consisted of Pullins (Miss Star), Breaunna Womack (Miss Babydoll), and Bahja Rodriguez (Miss Beauty).

MGA Entertainment Inc., majority-owned by founder Isaac Larian (who holds an 82% stake, while his family has 18%), debuted the L.O.L. Surprise Dolls in late 2016.

The dolls quickly became a favorite among young fashionistas, becoming America’s top toy for most of 2017. However, over the past decade, they have faced several controversies, resulting in a noticeable decline in quality and quantity, as noted by AFROTECH™.

With Larian pushing for more growth, L.O.L. Surprise! OMG (Outrageous Millennial Girls) fashion doll line hit the shelves in 2019.

The OMG designs and L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls received awards at the annual Toy Industry Awards in 2020. Plans to expand with mini-dolls and a Nintendo Switch game were also in place, although COVID-19 production delays threatened supply.

In a 2022 interview with Forbes, Tiny shared how she discovered the similarity between the girl group members and the dolls.

“I was asked by someone if OMG Girlz had dolls available in the store. I told her no and immediately started looking into it and researching the company,” Tiny recalled, according to AFROTECH™. “I realized that the created L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls had an identical appearance to the OMG Girlz. I couldn’t believe dolls were made in their likeness, and I didn’t know.”

Explaining her reasoning for her claims that the dolls infringe on their trademark, Tiny added, “The dolls’ outfits struck me, and that’s how I knew they were infringing on our trademark. One outfit, in particular, stood out to me because I personally designed the outfit for the OMG Girlz tour.”

Tiny initially responded with a cease-and-desist letter. However, when Larian filed a lawsuit in response, she felt she had no choice but to take the matter to court.

The legal battle between the superstar couple and MGA Entertainment reached a standstill on Jan. 25, 2023, when a judge declared a mistrial, AFROTECH™ noted.

U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna granted the motion on behalf of MGA after jurors heard testimony from a woman who accused the toy maker of “racist cultural appropriation.”

“Hearing the testimony was even worse than reading it in the cold print. The prejudicial nature of this testimony accusing MGA of racist cultural appropriation cannot be understated,” MGA lawyers said at the time. “There is no unringing this bell, no way for MGA to counter the improper testimony, and no instruction the court can give to cure this problem.”

However, on Sept. 23, 2024, jurors awarded the couple $71 million, which included $17.9 million in actual damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages, according to AFROTECH™.