O.J. Simpson and a decades-old civil verdict are on a collision course again as his estate agrees to pay Fred Goldman nearly $58 million, resolving a financial manhunt that began after the 1994 killings of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
According to TMZ, executor Malcolm LaVergne signed off on Goldman Sachs’ creditor claim for $57,997,858.12 plus interest. The amount is about half of the $117 million Goldman Sachs originally sought, a figure inflated by nearly 30 years of interest on the original civil judgment.
The debt stems from a 1997 civil trial in which a jury unanimously found Simpson responsible for the wrongful deaths of his ex-wife and their friend Ron Goldman.
The court awarded $8.5 million in damages to the Goldman Sachs family and another $25 million in punitive damages to the Goldman Sachs and Brown families. That $33.5 million ballooned over time due to unpaid interest.
Lavigne told TMZ that the estate plans to “disburse as much of the approved amount as possible through ongoing auctions of Simpson’s possessions.” He added that some memorabilia was stolen and said he was working with an attorney to recover the items.
Simpson spent years legally protecting his assets. With his NFL pension still largely untouchable, he moved to Florida, where homestead laws provided additional financial protection. Despite these efforts, only a small portion of the judgment was paid during Simpson’s lifetime.
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 large. He was sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison, a figure that was surprisingly close to the $33 million civil verdict. He served nine years and was paroled in 2017.
Simpson died in April 2024 at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer. Lavigne had said he would “never make a payment to the Goldman family” and wanted them to “get zero, nothing” from the estate, but he changed his stance and accepted the request.
The estate has rejected requests from most other creditors, except for Goldman Sachs’ request and a separate request from the IRS. Lavigne said the IRS will pay federal tax obligations first before paying any other debts, including a $636,945 claim filed by California.
Fred Goldman began pursuing accountability after the June 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson outside her Brentwood home. Ron Goldman, 25, a waiter, was returning a pair of glasses when he was killed. Simpson was acquitted of the criminal charges in 1995, but a civil trial found him responsible with a lower burden of proof.
After just three days of deliberations, all 12 jurors in the civil case voted against Simpson on their first vote.
Lavigne said he plans to ask the court to award Goldman Sachs administrative fees for helping manage the estate. He reiterated that the auction of Simpson’s estate will continue to fund the settlement, although the full value of the estate remains unknown.
Simpson’s estate formally accepted the claim in April 2024.
