T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris asked a judge to dismiss the remaining claims in Sabrina Peterson’s defamation lawsuit for disobeying a court order. According to court documents obtained by In Touch Weekly, the couple claimed Peterson refused to pay roughly $96,000 to cover their legal bills.
“She has willfully violated a court order,” the couple’s lawyer Andrew Brettler wrote. “And, while wasting judicial resources, she forced [T.I. and Tiny] to incur significant legal fees defending a litany of claims, most have which have already been thrown out.”
A judge ordered Peterson to pay $96,703 after dismissing several claims in her lawsuit against T.I. and Tiny in October 2023. The couple said Peterson had until January 15 to pay them, but she openly bragged about refusing to do so on social media.
T.I. and Tiny argued their legal battle couldn’t continue until Peterson paid them. They said Peterson abused the legal system with eyes on an out-of-court 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,” Brettler contended. “[Peterson] and her lawyers never had any intention of diligently prosecuting this case.”
TI. and his wife were accused of damaging Peterson’s reputation by denying her allegations of threats and sexual abuse. Peterson sued the couple in 2021.
An appeals court dismissed several claims, including trade libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, in June 2023. The court allowed Peterson to continue pursuing defamation and false light invasion of privacy claims against T.I. and Tiny.
T.I. and Tiny asserted they never defamed Peterson. The couple awaits a judge’s ruling on their latest bid for dismissal.
