O.J. Simpson is back in the spotlight, but for the wrong reasons, as old issues have resurfaced that affect his finances in a significant way.
Fred Goldman, the father of the late Ron Goldman, now claims that Simpson owes him $96 million from a 25-year-old lawsuit. New court documents filed by Goldman report that he has applied for a renewal of his old judgment against the controversial former NFL star.
The lawsuit stems from the slaying of his son, Ron Goldman, who was killed along with Nicole Brown Simpson in one of the most polarizing cases of the century.
OJ Simpson being sued for $96 million by Fred Goldman for death of his son Ron Goldman. In 1997, Simpson was ordered to pay $33 million to the Goldmans, when he was found liable for the killings. He hasn’t paid, instead Simpson has been living it up golfing and in nightclubs. pic.twitter.com/ovKpvUAOna
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) June 26, 2022
Ghosts Of The Past
In October 1995, after O.J. was acquitted from his nine-month public trial, Goldman filed a civil lawsuit against Simpson and won. The jury found him liable for the wrongful death of Goldman and awarded the Goldman family $33 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
According to Goldman, Simpson has not made good on the court order.
The jury’s unanimous decision countered Simpson’s 1995 acquittal in criminal court, initially awarding the Goldman family $8.5 million in compensatory damages.
For technical legal reasons, the Brown family did not seek compensatory damages. However, a jury ordered O.J. to pay $25 million in punitive damages to the relatives of murder victims.
“We came to the conclusion that Mr. Simpson should not profit from these murders,” said juror Stephen Strati to the L.A. Times in 1997.
Simpson did not attend those past proceedings to hear the verdicts, but now he will have no quarter from the renewed attempt to collect.
Renewed Fervor
Goldman has filed new court documents to apply for a renewal of the judgment against OJ Simpson from 1997. The documents state that Simpson has made only “relatively small payments” since the ruling claiming that the interest on O.J.’s debt has increased to a whopping $96 million.
In 2015, Fred reportedly said with interest, O.J. owed him $57 million, but in the seven years since, Goldman feels the number has ballooned.
Additionally, Goldman feels that since Simpson’s 2018 release from prison, he believes that his income potential has returned. Now Goldman wants the payments to resume to the Goldman family.
In 2008, Simpson was sentenced to a minimum of nine years and a maximum of 33 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia agents at a Las Vegas hotel.
New Money?
While in prison, Simpson made $10,565 a month, drawing from a reported NFL pension that paid him more than $600,000 over his years in prison. Simpson invested $5 million in 2012 into that pension. He is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild pension from his acting and producing credits and his NFL pension, which pays $1,700 monthly.
Simpson is on the hook for the Goldman settlement now whether the new number matches his understanding of the judgement is the question.
Simpson’s acquittal of double homicide made him a target for years while shooting his attorney Johnnie Cochran to fame as America’s civil rights attorney. However, the ghosts of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman still haunt O.J’s life, and they will do so for the remainder of it.
