OJ Simpson’s estate has agreed to pay Fred Goldman a payout of up to £61 million in the long-unresolved wrongful death case tied to the 1994 killing of Ron Goldman
OJ Simpson’s estate has agreed to a payout of up to £61 million to Fred Goldman, more than three decades after his son and the former NFL star’s ex-wife were brutally killed.
More than 30 years after a California court ruled that the late American football player must pay millions in damages, the estate has now accepted the settlement in principle. The development comes after 25-year-old Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were savagely stabbed to death outside her Brentwood home.
Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995 after an eight-month trial, but in 1997, a civil jury found him liable and ordered him to pay the Goldman family. Now Malcolm Lavergne, the lawyer acting as executor of Simpson’s estate, has said he has formally agreed to more than £44 million demanded by Ron’s father.
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Last week, Lavergne filed paperwork with the Nevada Probate Court confirming his intention to accept the payout. With interest, he expects the total to land between £53 million and £61 million. The U-turn comes after Lavergne said in April last year he hoped “the Goldmans get zero, nothing” and vowed to do everything in his power to “ensure that they get nothing.”
Both sides must now settle the question of how much interest is owed. Lavergne called the calculation a “pain in the butt” because Nevada’s court interest rate changes twice a year in line with the state’s prime rate.
“He’s not off by that much,” Lavergne said of the Goldman side’s figures. “But he’s off by enough that we need to work to get it right.”
Although the civil case originated in California, Simpson’s move to Las Vegas in 2017 made enforcing the judgment far more difficult. In February 2021, Goldman filed what is known as a foreign judgment in Nevada, officially shifting the case across state lines.
He sought £44 million – far less than the £89 million he once pursued under California’s more generous rules for creditors. Any interest now due dates back to February 2021, when the claim was domesticated in Nevada. Lavergne conceded Goldman would have had an easier time collecting had Simpson remained in California.
Goldman, now 84, still has the right to object once the estate produces its final number, Lavergne said. But he insisted the best way would be to negotiate directly rather than file further motions. Goldman did not respond to requests for comment.
Asked if Ron’s father could ever realistically collect most of the judgment, Lavergne replied: “The answer is no unless I buy a lottery ticket.” He added: “And I happen to know that OJ didn’t win the lottery,” noting the former running back gambled on sports heavily in his later years.
Further complicating matters is Simpson’s outstanding tax debt, which Lavergne said must be settled with the IRS before the Goldman family receives a cent. To raise funds, the estate plans to auction Simpson’s remaining valuables, including his 1985 NFL Hall of Fame ring and the Olympic torch he carried through Santa Monica for the 1984 Games, with Nicole Brown jogging behind him during the relay.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re making progress,” Lavergne said.
Simpson died on April 10, 2024, at age 76 from prostate cancer. Brown Simpson filed for divorce from her husband in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences, following a history of domestic violence. The couple had been married for seven years and had two children, and Simpson had pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989.
