Court documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show that a sexual assault case filed against Atlanta-based rapper T.I. and his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, in January has been dismissed.
The dismissal order was filed Thursday and approved by Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett of the U.S. District Court of California.
The original complaint was filed by a Jane Doe plaintiff in a California Superior Court, accusing T.I., whose given name is Clifford Harris, and Tiny of sexual battery, battery, sexual assault, negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress in 2005.
Credit: Jason LaVeris
Credit: Jason LaVeris
The woman claims she met T.I. and Tiny at a Los Angeles nightclub when she was in her 20s and enlisted in the Air Force. According to the lawsuit, she believed Tiny gave her a spiked drink, then said the couple later took her to a hotel and sexually assaulted her.
The Harrises had the complaint moved to federal court and on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, saying the plaintiff’s claims were beyond the statute of limitations. Attorneys for T.I. and Tiny also argued that the plaintiff’s complaint failed to provide facts to sufficiently establish any of the allegations of assault.
A representative for T.I. told the AJC the couple was unavailable for comment at presstime, due to the “Trap Muzik” rapper and his wife traveling to a booked performance at Matanuska Brewing in Eagle River, Alaska.
Garnett’s order leaves room for the unnamed plaintiff to file her complaint again, but with a limited window of time to act.
“Should Plaintiff seek to amend her Complaint, she must file any First Amended Complaint within twenty-one calendar days from the issuance of this order, along with a redline copy of the amended complaint showing all modifications made to the Complaint. If Plaintiff does not file an amended complaint within twenty-one calendar days, this action will be dismissed,” according to the judge’s order.
The court order also addressed T.I. and Tiny’s lawyers’ argument that the Jane Doe’s complaint was beyond the statute of limitations.
“The Court notes that Defendants’ statute of limitations defense appears to be strong. In light, however, of Plaintiff’s representation that she may be able to establish her compliance with statutory filing deadlines ... the Court declines at this early stage of litigation to find the statute of limitations issue insurmountable,” the order reads.
The celebrity couple have seen several similar sexual assault complaints dismissed in recent years. In September 2021, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the Harrises, also citing statue of limitation concerns. After the initial allegations came out, VH1 stopped production of a long-running reality show featuring the couple.
In a January statement following the complaint filing, T.I. and Tiny denied the assault accusations.
“This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for three years. For three years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations. For three years we have maintained our innocence and refused to pay these extortionate demands for things we didn’t do. For three years, we’ve maintained the same position while the claims in this story have changed time and time again. Our position is clear. We are innocent of these fake claims, we will not be shaken down, and we look forward to our day in court.”
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