T.I. and Tiny Harris asked a California judge to hold their former friend Sabrina Peterson in contempt for refusing to pay roughly $96,000 in legal fees. According to court documents obtained by In Touch Weekly, the couple sought $1,000 per day until Peterson paid the debt in full.
“Despite this court’s repeated orders that [Peterson] pay [T.I. and Tiny] their statutory attorneys’ fees and costs, [Peterson] has continuously and willfully refused to do so,” the couple’s lawyer wrote. “Her blatant noncompliance with the orders not only demonstrates a disregard for the authority of this court but also imposes an unfair and ongoing financial burden on [T.I. and Tiny], who have been forced to expend additional resources to recover the attorney fees to which they are rightfully entitled.”
A judge ordered Peterson to pay $96,703 to cover T.I. and Tiny’s legal fees in October 2023. Peterson sued T.I. and Tiny for defamation, among other claims.
An appeals court dismissed Peterson’s trade libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage claims. She was allowed to continue suing T.I. and Tiny for defamation and false light invasion of privacy. The couple claimed Peterson filed the lawsuit in hopes of securing a settlement.
“[Peterson] and her attorneys took advantage of the legal system by filing a ‘kitchen sink’ complaint, hoping that the nature of their allegations would attract enough media attention, which would then, in turn, put pressure on [T.I. and Tiny] to settle,” the couple’s attorney argued. “[Peterson] and her lawyers never had any intention of diligently prosecuting this case.”
T.I. and Tiny remained focused on collecting Peterson’s debt despite scoring a huge victory in a separate court case. The couple won $71 million in their lawsuit against toy giant MGA Entertainment in September.
