Beanie Babies mogul Ty Warner is pursuing legal action against the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, accusing the institution of reneging on a naming-rights agreement for its Sea Center after Warner was convicted of tax evasion in 2013 and the museum subsequently removed his name from the Stearns Wharf building.
Warner is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as damages for “emotional distress.” The lawsuit, filed in September 2025, was dismissed this January by a federal judge for exceeding the statute of limitations. Warner, however, has appealed the dismissal, and the case will now be heard by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Back in 2003, Warner donated $1.5 million toward an $8 million renovation of the Sea Center. In exchange, it would be named the “Ty Warner Sea Center” for “no less than 25 years” from the date of its reopening, the agreement stipulated. Warner also designed a limited-edition octopus-shaped Beanie Baby, “Opie,” for sale at the gift shop.