Judge Rejects Mistrial Motion in Bratz Case

Federal judge orders parties back to court Tuesday to complete trial's damages phase

Gillian Flaccus

The Associated Press

August 05, 2008

A federal judge rejected a mistrial motion Monday after dismissing a juror for allegedly making a racist remark during deliberations in a copyright infringement lawsuit that pits the maker of the popular Bratz dolls against toy giant Mattel Inc.

Lawyers for MGA Entertainment Inc. had argued that the comment could have tainted the jury against the company's chief executive officer, an Iranian immigrant who is Jewish.

U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson said he was deeply disturbed by the remark but felt that dismissing the juror was a sufficient remedy because the remaining nine jurors seemed unbiased and had openly discussed the remark with the judge.

"If only every jury in this country reacted to racism or bigotry the way this jury did ... we would have a much better jury system," Larson said, noting that one juror reported the comment to him and the foreman and others had rebuked the dismissed juror.

The woman told other panel members that her attorney husband had worked with Iranians and found they were "stubborn, rude, stingy, are thieves and have stolen other person's ideas," according to court papers.

Isaac Larian, the chief executive of Bratz doll-maker MGA, said he found Larson's decision on the mistrial "very disappointing."

After rejecting MGA's motion, Larson ordered all parties back to court Tuesday to complete the damages phase of the trial. The proceedings will continue with nine jurors.

MGA attorneys have sought to block testimony from an expert witness who has estimated in court filings that Mattel is owed about $1.6 billion in lost profits and other damages from the popular Bratz dolls. Mattel has declined to comment on the estimates.

Mattel said it was pleased with the court's decision to allow the case to proceed.

"Mattel believes that to declare a mistrial based on Juror No. 8's comment ... would be to penalize the jury for doing the right thing," the maker of Barbie said in a prepared statement.

MGA's lead attorney, Tom Nolan, said the company will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We believe we're entitled to a unanimous verdict of 10 impartial jurors," he said.

The comment was allegedly made after jurors had unanimously found that the designer of the urban-influenced Bratz dolls developed the concept while working for Mattel, but before they had signed the verdict form.

Larson said the dismissed juror had sent a letter to the court in which "she expresses her shock and sense of humiliation over the entire incident" and vehemently objects to the statements attributed to her.

Larson said, however, that he believes the woman made what he called "grossly inappropriate" statements. Yet he made a distinction between a civil case and a criminal case before making his ruling.

"At stake here is property -- a lot of property. At two o'clock, I'll be taking cases where people's life and liberty are at stake," he said. "That's not the case here. And there a difference."

The jury ruled previously that Los Angeles-based MGA and Larian were liable for converting Mattel property for their own use and intentionally interfering with the contractual duties owed by the designer to Mattel.

Mattel filed the lawsuit against MGA, which began marketing the hugely popular Bratz line of sassy urban dolls in 2001.

Carter Bryant, the dolls' designer, reached a confidential settlement with Mattel on the eve of trial and Mattel dropped its lawsuit against him.

Sales of Barbie doll -- once a near rite-of-passage of American girlhood -- have slid since Bratz came on the scene with their low-slung pants and dramatic, flirty features. Domestic Barbie sales were down 15 percent in 2007 and 12 percent in the first quarter of 2008, while international sales increased 6 percent in 2008 as opposed to 12 percent the previous year.

The timing of Bryant's creation was key in Mattel's suit.

Mattel attorneys argued that Bryant worked for the company between September 1995 and April 1998 and then returned for a second stint at Mattel between January 1999 and October 2000.

He signed an agreement that gave Mattel the right to anything he designed while employed there, the lawyers argued.

In a summary of the case, Mattel said MGA began showing Bratz prototypes a month after Bryant left Mattel and began selling the hugely popular dolls in toy stores five months later.

But Bryant testified during the six-week trial that the sketches he showed MGA in 2000 were transferred from originals he made in the summer of 1998 -- between his two employment stints with Mattel -- that were inspired as he watched kids walking from school, Steve Madden shoe ads in Seventeen magazine, and the cover of a Dixie Chicks album.

Larson said he would issue a more complete, written ruling in the coming days.