O.J. Simpson Estate Reverses Vow On Goldman Family Getting 'Zero' From $33 Million Payout
The lawyer handling O.J. Simpson’s estate is reversing a vow he made earlier to do “everything” he can to keep the families of murder victims Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson from collecting on a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment.
O.J. Simpson, who was famous both as a football player and as an acquitted murder suspect, died last week at the age of 76 from cancer.
After Simpson’s death was announced, Malcolm LaVergne, his attorney and estate executor, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he wanted to make sure the Goldman family “get zero, nothing.”
However, he has changed his tune.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Monday, LaVergne said that Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, will have his claim “accepted” and “handled in accordance with Nevada law.”
LaVergne admitted to the outlet that his earlier vow was in reaction to comments made by Fred Goldman’s lawyers after Simpson’s death was announced.
“Within an hour of knowing that O.J. died, [Goldman’s lawyer] started talking shit,” LaVergne said. “My advocate instinct is was, ‘Oh, you’re gonna keep shitting on him even after he’s dead? Fine, you know? You get nothing.’”
LaVergne added that his initial remarks were “pretty harsh,” but “I backtracked” and “now I’m going in the other direction.”
Moving forward, LaVergne plans to be “hypertransparent” with both the Brown Simpson and Goldman families and will invite Ron Goldman’s mother and the person in control of Brown Simpson’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.
Simpson was put on trial for the June 1994 murders of Goldman and Brown Simpson, his ex-wife, and was acquitted in October 1995.
A 1997 civil suit ruled that Simpson was liable for Goldman and Brown Simpson’s deaths.
However, the Goldman family has only received less than 1% of the more than $33 million they are owed by the Simpson estate, according to the Los Angeles Times.
