Two years ago rapper T.I. and his wife, singer Tiny Harris were sued by their former friend Sabrina Peterson for defamation of character.
via: Radar Online
Peterson rushed to court to object to the couple’s demand she coughs up a six-figure sum to cover their legal bills — weeks after they successfully dismissed most of her defamation lawsuit.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Peterson has asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to deny the recent motion brought by T.I. and Tiny.
As we first reported, the entertainers demanded the court order Peterson to pay them $164,650.56.
The request came after the court dismissed the majority of claims in Peterson’s lawsuit against the duo.
Peterson sued T.I. and Tiny in March 2021. She accused the two of smearing her name publicly after she spoke out about an alleged incident with T.I.
Peterson claimed that the rapper pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her. She said it all started when she got into an argument with T.I.’s assistant.
She said T.I. responded to the argument by pointing a gun at her and allegedly telling her “B—- I’ll kill you.”
Peterson tried to start a social media campaign against T.I. by claiming she had over 100 women who were “ready to speak out” against the rapper. No criminal charges were ever brought against T.I.
Peterson said after she accused T.I. of the threat with the gun Tiny harassed her on social media.
She said Tiny posted a photo of Peterson’s 8-year-old son captioned, “Hold up …. So you want your abuser to train your son … now when did you say my husband assaulted you? Did you change your mind or change it back? What’s up wit you today Pooh? I’m confused. Stop harassing my family. You strange. Everybody know you been special. Please Get help.”
T.I. and Tiny denied all allegations of wrongdoing. The couple’s lawyer described Peterson as, “an adjudged liar, a convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet for crimes involving dishonesty and violent assault, and has a reputation for being unscrupulous.”
The entertainers argued that the statements Peterson sued over were not defamatory and were simply their opinion.
Last month, T.I. and Tiny scored a huge victory when an appellate court reversed a decision made by the lower court. The ruling dismissed 5 of 7 claims.
As a result of the victory, T.I. and Tiny demanded the $165k to cover their fees which they racked up defending themselves.
Now, Peterson asked that the motion be denied. She said the amount requested was inflated.
Further, she claimed the bill was not supported by proper invoices from T.I. and Tiny’s legal team.
“Their motivation for doing so is not a good faith effort to collect fees owed but is a Hail Mary attempt at disgorging all fees associated with this litigation from its inception. This request flies in the face of the order issued by the Court of Appeals, which awarded them fees based solely on the five counts on which they prevailed,” the motion read.
Peterson asked the court to deny or severely reduce the requested fees. A judge has yet to rule.
