Mattel won its original suit against Larian and his company, MGA Entertainment. But an appeals court found errors in that trial and ordered the trial to start all over again. The re-trial began January 18 in Los Angeles.
Then last Wednesday, Mattel surprised the court by charging that Larian made several comments in his recent testimony that tainted the jury and deprived Mattel of a fair trial. Among these comments were that Mattel destroyed Larian’s family; caused the death of Larian’s father; and caused Barbie doll designer Carter Bryant, who came up with the original Bratz sketches, to have a stroke.
If a mistrial is not granted, Mattel asked US District Judge David Carter to tell the jury that Larian’s statements are false.
Mattel is famous worldwide as the manufacturer of the Barbie doll. A decade ago, Larian’s firm produced the Bratz dolls, and Barbie saw sales slip for the first time since Barbie was created a half century ago.
Mattel alleges Bryant came up with the idea for the popular, pouty-lipped Bratz dolls while working at Mattel and that MGA subsequently stole the idea.
MGA debuted the dolls in 2001 to rave reviews.
Mattel attorney John Quinn said in his opening statement last month that MGA has sold $3.3 billion in Bratz products, with $292 million in profits, while the doll line decreased Mattel’s Barbie profits by $393 million.
Mattel had 85 percent of the fashion doll market before Bratz came out, then watched its market share fall to 60 percent.
In its motion, Mattel also objected to Larian’s testimony that Mattel uses litigation to stifle competition; that Mattel caused Bryant to have a stroke; and that a Mattel attorney made a racist remark earlier in the litigation. Larian is Jewish and came to the United States from Iran decades ago.
MGA spokesman Allan Parachini said Larian became emotional on the stand because of the stress of the litigation. “He clearly associated [his father’s] death with the litigation, and it’s been an extremely traumatic and emotional experience for him and his family,” Parachini told The Associated Press.
As for Bryant, he said, the doll designer had a medical crisis at the airport while returning home after testifying earlier in the trial. Bryant was taken to the hospital by ambulance, although Parachini did not know the diagnosis.
Billions of dollars in future revenue — and possibly the fate of MGA — are on the line.
Two years ago, a federal jury awarded Mattel $100 million and found that Bryant had developed the concept for the dolls while working for Mattel. An appeals court later overturned the verdict, and the case was sent back for a retrial.
The appeals court also ruled that MGA deserved “sweat equity” for making and marketing the dolls, meaning that even of Larian had stolen the design, he did a lot to build the Bratz market himself.
This time, jurors are also being asked to determine the scope of the invention agreement signed by Bryant at Mattel before he went to work for MGA. They also must decide on MGA’s counterclaims that Mattel engaged in unfair business practices—i.e., each firm is now saying that the other firm stole trade secrets.
In those counter-allegations, MGA accuses Mattel of sending investigators using fake identification to spy on MGA at trade shows and threatening retailers and distributors who did business with MGA.
