T.I. and Tiny Harris File Motion to Dismiss Sexual Assault Lawsuit
T.I. and his wife, Tiny Harris, are looking to get a sexual assault lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the statute of limitations has expired.
According to a complaint obtained by PEOPLE, an Air Force veteran claimed she was drugged and raped by the couple after meeting them at a Los Angeles club back in 2005. The woman filed the lawsuit in January under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act and claimed that she did not consent to any of the sexual acts that allegedly occurred that night.
The rapper and his wife filed a motion on Thursday requesting that a judge dismiss the woman’s case “in its entirety, with prejudice.” They claimed the statute of limitations had expired on the woman’s claims, and her lawsuit “fails to allege facts to sufficiently establish any of the claims alleged in the Complaint.”
“Here, at best, Plaintiff had up to December 31, 2007, to file the instant lawsuit based on the facts alleged in the Complaint,” the couple stated in their motion. “As such, this instant lawsuit, filed over sixteen years past that statutory deadline – 18 years after the facts alleged in the Complaint occurred is time-barred, along with all the claims asserted in the Complaint.”
They also added that “there are no facts whatsoever that could redeem or revive any actionable claims by Plaintiff against Defendants based on the 2005 encounter alleged in the Complaint.”
In her lawsuit, the woman said she was in her 20s and was stationed in L.A. where she met T.I. and Tiny at a club. A man named Caviar introduced her to them in a VIP section and the woman claimed Tiny gave her a drink before taking her and two other women to a hotel room with T.I.
Once the two women left, the Air Force vet said Tiny took her clothes and the couple joined her in the shower before she was instructed to lay in bed with the rapper. She claimed to have felt dizzy and light-headed while also stating Tiny pinned her down to make way for T.I. to put his toes in the woman’s vagina.
Tiny is also alleged to have aroused herself by grinding and massaging the woman’s backside, which caused her to vomit and grow “increasingly sicker and felt extremely ill by the assault and battery she was experiencing.” The woman added that she woke up the next day in pain and felt a burning sensation in her vagina.
She is seeking unspecified damages for sexual battery, battery, sexual assault, negligence, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. T.I. and Tiny have denied all allegations in a statement.
“On the heels of positivity, negativity always rears its ugly head. This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for THREE years. For THREE years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations,” read the statement. “For THREE years we have maintained our innocence and refused to pay these extortionate demands for things we didn’t do. For THREE years, we’ve maintained the same position while the claims in this story have changed time and time again. Our position is clear… We are innocent of these fake claims, we will not be shaken down, and we look forward to our day in court.”