OMG Girlz Judge Poised to Slash Bulk of Jury Award in Doll Case

Jan. 6, 2025, 11:49 PM UTC

A California federal judge is poised to shave $53.6 million off the damages a jury awarded to former pop group OMG Girlz after finding toy maker MGA Entertainment Inc. ripped off their signature look in a doll line.

Judge James V. Selna in the US District Court for the Central District of California in a tentative ruling Monday said he would discard the jury’s punitive damages award but leave intact its $17.9 million real damages award for the L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Doll line’s infringement of the OMG Girlz’s trade dress.

A federal jury in September awarded the former teen-pop group $71.5 million in damages after a winding road of proceedings that included three trials and allegations of cultural misappropriation, which were excluded from trial.

Selna will decide whether to adopt his tentative ruling following a hearing Monday.

The case is MGA Entertainment Inc. v. Clifford T.I. Harris et al, C.D. Cal., No. 2:20-cv-11548, 1/6/25.


To contact the reporter on this story: Maia Spoto in Los Angeles at mspoto@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Gleason at sgleason@bloombergindustry.com

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