Nearly 30 years after a civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the executor of Simpson’s estate has formally moved to satisfy the long-unpaid judgment owed to Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman.
According to TMZ, Malcolm LaVergne—who oversees Simpson’s estate—has approved Fred Goldman’s creditor claim totaling $57,997,858.12, a figure that reflects the original 1997 judgment plus three decades of accumulated interest. “The amount had been negotiated with Goldman,” LaVergne told the outlet, signaling a major shift from his earlier position.
Ron Goldman was murdered alongside Nicole Brown Simpson on June 12, 1994. Although Simpson was acquitted of the killings in criminal court in what became known as the “Trial of the Century,” a civil jury found him liable in 1997 and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the Brown and Goldman families. Only a fraction was ever collected during Simpson’s lifetime. Simpson died in April 2024 at age 76.
LaVergne now says the estate will liquidate assets to pay what it can, including auctioning Simpson’s personal belongings. Some items, he noted, had been stolen over the years, adding that he is working with attorneys to recover them. He also plans to request a court-approved administrative fee for Goldman, acknowledging Goldman’s cooperation in the estate process.
Beyond Goldman’s claim, LaVergne said he has rejected most other creditors, accepting only Goldman and the IRS. Federal tax obligations take precedence, and the estate must also address a $636,945 claim from the state of California, though LaVergne said the state would need to pursue legal action if it wants to enforce payment.
His current stance represents a stark departure from comments he made immediately after Simpson’s death, when he vowed the Goldmans would receive nothing. Now, LaVergne says the estate intends to resolve the judgment “to the extent possible.”
For decades, Fred Goldman has said that holding Simpson accountable in civil court was one of the few avenues left to seek justice for his son.
