Photo courtesy of ABC News.
Summary: A judge ruled that Ron Goldman’s father cannot take a cut of O.J. Simpson’s autograph earnings.
The Juice is loose, and he continues bringing heartache to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to the Associated Press, O.J. Simpson has not paid the $70 million civil judgment in their wrongful death lawsuit, and on Tuesday, a judge ruled that the former football star did not have to turn over cash he makes from signing autographs and making appearances.
In 1994, Brown-Simpson and Goldman were murdered at her home in Brentwood. She was married to Simpson, but they had a tumultuous relationship and divorced.
Simpson was arrested for their murders, and the trial gripped the nation. Simpson’s dream team, which consisted of Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, and Robert Kardashian, amongst many other star attorneys, successfully argued that Simpson was not the killer, and a jury found him not guilty. However, the families of the slain sued Simpson in civil court for wrongful death, and they were awarded millions.
Unfortunately, for the Browns and Goldmans, Simpson has not paid up, and the judgment has accrued interest over the past two decades. One of Simpson’s lawyers said that Simpson, 70, has offered deals to lessen the amount, but the families refused.
“All this talk about O.J. Simpson not contributing monies, not being willing to deal are outright, well, let’s not call it lies, outright improper representations,” Simpson’s attorney Ronald Slates said to the Associated Press. “Nothing we can do, God knows, can bring back Ron Goldman. That’s a tragedy. But to prolong that for 21 years and not take a dime just because you want to teach Mr. Simpson a lesson and you teach him a lesson by not letting him work, that’s just not right.”
Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, has been able to secure some of Simpson’s assets, including video game royalties, but the debt has mostly been unpaid. Ron Goldman filed to obtain the money Simpson earned from recent autograph signings, but this week, a judge denied Goldman the request.
Judge Gerald Rosenberg told Ron Goldman’s attorney, David Cook, that they needed to identify who paid Simpson in order to get the money.
While Simpson avoided jail for his ex-wife and her friend’s murder, he served time for armed robbery after he staged a casino heist to get back his sports memorabilia. He was recently released from a Nevada prison, and he has reportedly been collecting money to sign jerseys, helmets, and posters from the FX series “The People vs. O.J. Simpson,” which was a dramatic retelling of his murder trial.
Goldman’s legal team tried to collect Simpson’s earnings post-prison, but Simpson’s team said that his money was used to pay them. Goldman’s lawyer said that Simpson flat out refuses to pay.
“Mr. Simpson has stated repeatedly he will never pay Fred Goldman on a voluntary basis,” Cook said. “Simpson from our point of view is a denier. He’s denied everything and we’re getting another round of it where he’s said, ‘I was acquitted, the wrongful death judgment means nothing to me.’ It doesn’t work that way, folks.”
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