Mattel to get up to $100 million in Bratz case

Posted Aug 27th 2008 5:30AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Law, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Mattel (NYSE: MAT) scored a big victory when it sued MGA Entertainment over the origin of the wildly popular Bratz dolls, and won. But it looks like the victory won't be as big as the parent company of Barbie would like.

Mattel was seeking $1.8 billion in damages but, on Tuesday, a jury awarded Mattel just $100 million in damages, but The Wall Street Journal explains that that award "could be further reduced by U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson because it contains duplicate damages for the same offense, according to Thomas Nolan, an attorney for MGA." Still to be determined is who will have the right to continue marketing the Bratz brand.

This is a big loss for Mattel. The company spent millions pursuing the litigation -- the amount was large enough that Mattel said it materially affected earnings, and Mattel is a $30 billion company.

This has definitely been one of the more entertaining lawsuits in business news of late and it looks like there will be a few more rounds to go, with MGA Entertainment planning to file an appeal.

Tags: Bratz, inthenews, MAT, Mattel