The jury in a U.S. District Court trial has returned a $30 million judgement against Taco Bell. In the case, the plaintiffs claimed to have created the Taco Bell chihuahua character formerly used in Taco Bell’s advertisements.
In Wrench v. Taco Bell Corp., the jury awarded $30,174,000 to plaintiffs Joseph Shields and Thomas Rinks. The case was filed in 1998.

YUM! Brands, owner of the Taco Bell brand, plans to appeal. If unsuccessful, YUM! said in a statement that it intends to seek reimbursement from its insurance carriers and Taco Bell’s former advertising agency, Chiat Day.