The sexual assault case involving rapper TI and singer Tiny is behind us, at least for now.
This week, a judge granted the couple’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the former “Friends & Family Hustle” reality stars in 2005. According to legal documents reviewed by The Times, U.S. District Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett on Thursday ordered the complaint dismissed, months after the woman — identified only as Jane Doe in court documents — filed her lawsuit.
Doe accused the “Live Your Life” rapper and the Xscape singer of sexual assault, battery, negligence, wrongful imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit filed Jan. 2 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The allegations had previously been the focus of a Los Angeles police investigation in 2021.
The investigation concluded in September 2021 when the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office decided not to file charges against the musicians because the case was outside the 10-year statute of limitations.
The lawsuit against T.I., 43, and Tiny, 49, was filed under California’s Sexual Assault Liability and Cover-Up Act. The law allows for civil lawsuits in sexual assault cases that have expired, when “one or more entities are legally responsible for the damages and the entity or its agents engaged in a cover-up.” The law allowed lawsuits to be filed through the end of 2023.
When the suit was filed, the couple — whose real names are Clifford Harris Jr. and Tameka Harris — “emphatically and categorically” denied the allegations and maintained their innocence, adding that “the claims in this story have changed over and over again.” Proceedings continued in Los Angeles County Superior Court until April, when the duo filed a motion to move the case to federal court.
In late June, they filed their motion to dismiss “on the grounds that Plaintiff’s claims are time-barred and that she fails to allege sufficient facts to state any claim,” the order says.
While Garnett granted T.I. and Tiny's motion to dismiss, the plaintiff still has a period of several weeks to amend her complaint, according to the order. If she does not file an amended complaint, the sexual assault case will be dismissed without prejudice.
A legal representative for the actress did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment. A representative for T.I. and Tiny also declined to comment.
The firing order comes just days after T.I. was arrested in Atlanta, according to multiple outlets. The Grammy-winning rapper was detained Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after police mistook him for a man with the same name who has an arrest warrant out of Baltimore, according to CBS News. The rapper was released just hours after his arrest and has seemingly downplayed the incident, announcing that he will perform Friday at a brewery in Alaska.
“ALASKA, I’m on my way,” TI said on Instagram.
