O.J. Simpson’s Lawyer Reverses Opinion on Payments to Goldman Family (Exclusive)

Kevin Dolak
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O.J. Simpson’s longtime attorney, who was named executor of the former NFL star’s will ahead of his death last week, has said he will ensure that any claim the parents of Ron Goldman make to retrieve the millions they were awarded in a 1998 civil judgment against the accused killer will be accepted by the estate.

Attorney Malcolm LaVergne, who represented Simpson from 2009 until the former running back’s death on April 10 after a battle with prostate cancer, said that he wants to walk back statements made last week while speaking by phone with The Hollywood Reporter on Monday afternoon. LaVergne had previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he’d fight to prevent a payout of the $33.5 million judgment awarded to the families of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman; he said he specifically wanted Fred Goldman to receive “zero — nothing” of Simpson’s estate.

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“I can tell you in advance, Fred Goldman’s claim will be accepted. And his claim will be handled in accordance with Nevada law,” LaVergne told THR, admitting that his earlier remarks were not in response to Fred Goldman, who has been relentless in his pursuit of justice for his son since the 1997 civil trial verdict, but toward his attorneys.

“Within an hour of knowing that O.J. died, he started talking shit. My advocate instinct is was, ‘Oh, you’re gonna keep shitting on him even after he’s dead?’” he said. “’Fine, you know? You get nothing.’ And so, those were my remarks then. But I backtracked, and they were pretty harsh remarks. And now I’m going in the other direction.”

LaVergne said that he plans to be “hypertransparent” with the families of Brown Simpson and Goldman, whose bodies were found stabbed to death outside her home in the affluent area of Brentwood, Los Angeles, in June of 1994. The attorney added that he plans to invite Goldman’s mother and the person in control of Brown’s estate to a meeting at his office.

“I’m going to show my homework before I even have to give it to the courts and see what we can do in terms of getting this estate in order,”  LaVergne said.

In 2022, Fred Goldman told THR that he has not seen any money from Simpson in relation to the judgment in the 1997 civil trial verdict — the total of which he said is raised by 10 percent each year.

“It’s a ridiculous number, none of which has ever appeared,” Goldman said. “[Simpson] never paid one single penny. Anything that we were able to take was through our own efforts of taking things away from him.”

The tens of millions owed to the Goldmans and Browns have a judgment lien and are “secured debt,” which will be paid prior to those to creditors of Simpson holding unsecured debt.

Simpson’s assets, including real estate holdings in Florida, have been placed into a trust and will now be subject to a probate process in court. The NFL Hall of Famer is survived by his four adult children — Arnelle, 55, and Jason, 54, with his first wife, Marguerite, and Sydney, 35, and Justin, 33, with Brown. LaVergne said that he is signing off on decisions when the four reach a consensus based on what they know their father would want.

The decision to cremate Simpson’s remains, which will happen at some point this week, according to LaVergne, was made through the consensus of the children. There are no immediate plans for a funeral ceremony, he added, but a memorial celebration of Simpson’s life is anticipated in the coming weeks or months.

“If and when it takes place, it is intended to be limited to family and friends,” LaVergne said.

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