by Bill Hammerstrom, editor

MGA Entertainment, which owns Little Tikes in Hudson, lost a major legal battle with Mattel this month. A jury's ruling in the case could cost the California-based toymaker hundreds of millions of dollars, according to some news sources that have dubbed the case, "Bratz vs. Barbie."

MGA makes Bratz dolls, which compete with Mattel's Barbie dolls for little girls' affections. Bratz have generated nearly $1 billion in sales since they were introduced in 2001.

A federal court jury in California ruled that the creator of the Bratz dolls worked for Mattel when he designed the toys and conceived the Bratz characters and name. It ruled that MGA and its CEO, Isaac Larian, are liable to Mattel, and jurors were to determine damages over three weeks beginning July 23.

Mattel has asked for more than $1 billion from MGA and Larian, representing past profits and future profits from sales of Bratz dolls and merchandise, according to U.S. District Court documents.

However, MGA has expressed confidence that it will be vindicated in the second phase of the trial as the jury determines damages.

MGA calls Mattel's lawsuit a "business strategy" and an attempt to "hijack what the family-owned company created from scratch."

"MGA believes Mattel, having failed to compete in the marketplace, has resorted to litigation as a business strategy -- with the intention to 'litigate MGA to death,'" MGA wrote in a press release.

If MGA's finances take a beating -- either from the impending jury's decision or due to large legal bills -- will Little Tikes' operations in Hudson be impacted?

Little Tikes and MGA officials would not comment on the Mattel case or how it could relate to Little Tikes' future in Hudson.

The company has already gone through some rocky times since MGA bought it from Newell Rubbermaid in 2006.

Little Tikes laid off 50 workers in June 2007, a move Larian called "regrettable and heartbreaking." The company's Hudson workforce had already dissipated from around 2,000 in 2002 to about 400 in 2006.

Negotiations between MGA and the city over concessions to keep Little Tikes in Hudson have seemed contentious at times. City officials have claimed MGA threatened to move Little Tikes operations to Mexico if it didn't get what it wanted. Meanwhile, Larian had said the city offered the company "minimal concessions" to keep Little Tikes in town, a point the city disputed.

At various times, it has sounded like MGA was seriously considering moving Little Tikes, which has been in Hudson since 1984. In June 2007, Larian wouldn't rule out moving the company out of Hudson if it wasn't profitable enough in two years. In January, a company spokesperson said Little Tikes could sell its Hudson facility and move elsewhere by the end of the year.

However, talk of moving softened last week when Mark Bachner, vice president of global manufacturing for Little Tikes, said the company saw itself "continuing in Hudson for the foreseeable future." It is now focusing on leasing 385,000 square feet of its 1.25 million-square-foot facility on Barlow Road, he said.

Would an unfavorable ruling in the Mattel case change that focus in the eyes of MGA officials, who are already carefully scrutinizing Little Tikes' profitability?

Company officials aren't talking about that, leaving the community and company employees hoping that Little Tikes is not the big loser in the battle of Barbie vs. Bratz.

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