O.J. Simpson and a decades-long civil judgment collided once more as his estate agreed to pay Fred Goldman nearly $58 million, resolving a financial pursuit that began after the 1994 killings of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
Executor Malcolm LaVergne signed off on Goldman’s creditor claim for $57,997,858.12 plus interest, according to TMZ. That amount is about half of the $117 million Goldman initially requested, a figure inflated by nearly 30 years of interest on the original civil judgment.
The debt stems from a 1997 civil trial where a jury unanimously found Simpson liable for the wrongful deaths of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman.
The court awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family and another $25 million in punitive damages to be split between the Goldman and Brown families. That $33.5 million ballooned over time due to unpaid interest.
LaVergne told TMZ the estate plans to pay “as much of the approved amount as possible through ongoing auctions of Simpson’s possessions.” He added that some memorabilia had been stolen and said he’s working with attorneys to retrieve those items.
Simpson spent years legally shielding his assets. His NFL pension remained largely untouchable, and he moved to Florida, where homestead laws offered additional financial protection. Despite these efforts, Simpson paid only a small portion of the judgment while alive.
Even after his 2008 conviction for armed robbery and kidnapping in a Las Vegas hotel room—an incident involving sports memorabilia—Simpson’s financial obligations loomed. He was sentenced to up to 33 years, a number eerily close to the $33 million civil judgment. He served nine years before being paroled in 2017.
Simpson died in April 2024 at age 76 following a battle with cancer. LaVergne, who once said he “would never pay the Goldman family” and wanted them “to get zero, nothing from estate,” reversed course and accepted the claim.
The estate has denied most other creditor claims, except for Goldman’s and a separate demand from the Internal Revenue Service. LaVergne said the IRS will be paid first to satisfy federal tax obligations before any other debts, including a $636,945 claim from California.
Fred Goldman’s pursuit of accountability began after the June 1994 murders outside Nicole Brown Simpson’s Brentwood home. Ron Goldman, 25, was working as a waiter and had gone to return a pair of glasses when he was killed. Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges in 1995, but the civil trial held him responsible under a lower burden of proof.
All 12 jurors in the civil case voted against Simpson on the first ballot after just three days of deliberations.
LaVergne said he plans to ask the court to award Goldman administrative fees for helping manage the estate. He reiterated that auctions of Simpson’s belongings will continue to fund the settlement, though the estate’s full value is still unknown.
Simpson’s estate formally accepted the claim in April 2024.
Related
