A lawsuit accusing rapper T.I. and his wife, Tiny Harris, of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2005 was dismissed by a California federal judge. The case, originally filed by the alleged victim, known as Jane Doe, was thrown out by U.S. District Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. However, the judge granted Doe the opportunity to file an amended complaint, as her legal team had requested last month.
The allegations in the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on January 2, claimed that Doe encountered the couple in the VIP section of a nightclub. She alleged that she was given a spiked drink and then taken to the couple’s hotel room, where T.I. and Tiny Harris “forced her to get naked” and then sexually assaulted her. Both T.I. (Clifford Harris Jr.) and Tiny (Tameka Harris) have consistently denied the allegations. A spokesperson for the couple told to a news channel
“The court agreed with Tip and Tameka that Jane Doe doesn’t appear to have any viable claims. As Tip and Tameka stated three years ago, these allegations are some of the many false, salacious accusations thrown out into the media in a cheap attempt to extort money from them.”
The case was moved to federal court in California at the end of March, where T.I. and Tiny sought to have it dismissed. In June, they filed a motion for dismissal, arguing that Doe’s claims were “time-barred” and that her lawsuit lacked sufficient factual basis. The couple’s lawyers pointed out that the statute of limitations had expired over 16 years prior. According to their motion, Doe should have filed her lawsuit by December 31, 2007, based on the facts she alleged.
Judge Garnett also criticized Doe’s attorneys for failing to adhere to court procedures. In July, the defense filed requests to amend the original complaint, which was not permitted at that stage of the legal process. The judge noted that they were required to file an opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss. However, Garnett did grant Doe’s legal team permission to amend the complaint, stating, “Because Plaintiff requests leave to amend, and because it is not clear that amendment would be futile, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to amend.”
Jane Doe’s lawsuit was filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act. This law allows civil suits to be filed for cases of sexual assault even if the statute of limitations has expired. The legislation permits lawsuits to be filed until the end of 2023 for incidents that occurred after the plaintiff’s 18th birthday but would have otherwise been barred due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Victims whose assaults occurred after January 1, 2019, can seek damages up until December 31, 2026.
The allegations in Doe’s lawsuit are not isolated. They resemble those made during a reported 2021 police investigation into a similar incident in 2005. The investigation involved a “military veteran” who claimed that T.I. and Tiny Harris had “raped her in a hotel room” after she was drugged while drinking with them in the VIP section of a Los Angeles nightclub, as reported by The New York Times.
Doe’s legal team now has 21 days to file an amended complaint. Should they fail to do so, the case will be dismissed permanently.
This lawsuit is just one of many allegations faced by T.I. and Tiny Harris. In 2021, more than a dozen women came forward with claims of drugging, sex trafficking, and rape. However, none of these accusers have publicly identified themselves in the lawsuits. The dismissal of Jane Doe’s case marks a significant development, but the legal battle is far from over. Whether the amended complaint will bring new evidence or lead to a different outcome remains to be seen.
