Former football star O.J. Simpson is in the news once again following his death from prostate cancer on April 10, 2024, in Nevada due to the large debt he owes the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, whom he was accused and later acquitted of killing in what had been dubbed “the trial of the century.”
The not-guilty verdict of the 1995 murder trial more than ruffled a few feathers, particularly those of Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, who in 1997, turned to the civil court to seek damages for the wrongful deaths of his son and Nicole Brown.
The jury in the O.J. Simpson civil suit found Simpson liable for Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown’s deaths, resulting in the judge ordering Simpson to pay tens of millions of dollars in damages to the affected families. However, at the time of O.J. Simpson’s death, the lion’s share of the judgment remained unpaid.
“It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing,” Malcolm LaVergne, O.J. Simpson’s longtime lawyer and the executor of his estate, initially told the newspaper Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”
LaVergne may be adamant about not providing the Goldmans any money from the O.J. Simpson estate, but from a legal standpoint, can a money judgment be ignored? LaVergne may be in for a rude awakening.
Continue reading to learn a probate lawyer’s take on whether the death of O.J. Simpson absolves him of his debt to the Goldmans and Browns.
Background: The O.J. Simpson Wrongful Death Case
Though O.J. Simpson was acquitted of all charges related to the gruesome murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown in 1995, there were many who believed the jury erred in deeming Simpson “not guilty.” One of those people was Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman.
Fred Goldman was determined to hold Simpson accountable, and he did that by filing a civil suit against him. Goldman’s efforts proved fruitful, because in 1997, a jury unanimously found Simpson responsible for the wrongful deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown. Simpson, in turn, was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to their families.
While the civil judgment was a resounding victory for the Goldmans and Browns, little did they know their battle with Simpson was only just beginning. According to the Los Angeles Times, despite O.J. Simpson having a supposed net worth of up to $15.7 million in the late 1990s, Simpson was claiming he didn’t have sufficient funds to satisfy the judgment.
How Much Has O.J. Simpson Paid the Goldman Family?
The Goldmans insist that collecting their debt from Simpson was never about the money but about holding Simpson accountable, who at times acted in ways that suggested a lack of remorse. For example, in 2007, he published a book titled “If I Did It,” which was touted as a “fictional memoir” and recounts how he might have committed the murders.
Despite Fred Goldman’s tireless pursuit to hold Simpson accountable, court documents from 2015 show that the Goldmans had only received around $132,000 of the $33.5 million judgment they were owed. They may not have even received this amount if they hadn’t asked the court for proceeds from the sale of Simpson’s book.
To this day, the Goldmans and their legal team have been unable to access Simpson’s NFL pension or trust. Additionally, there is little to no information available about the value of the O.J. Simpson estate.
According to the Goldmans’ lawyer, David J. Cook, due to the interest the civil judgment has accrued over the years, the O.J. Simpson estate now owes more than $100 million to the Goldmans.
Whether or not the civil judgment from the Fred Goldman vs. O.J. Simpson wrongful death lawsuit will ever be fulfilled remains to be seen.
What Is the Probate Process and How Does It Work?
Most estates must pass through the court-supervised probate process. During this process, an executor or administrator of the estate (called the personal representative) will be appointed, the deceased person’s assets will be inventoried, and their creditors will be paid. Whatever assets that remain in the estate will be distributed to estate beneficiaries or heirs.
According to the State Bar of Nevada, which is where O.J. Simpson’s death occurred, any estates with a cumulative value of $20,000 or more must be probated.
While there is little information available about the value of the O.J. Simpson estate, it is safe to assume it is worth more than $20,000, and therefore, must be probated. This is likely why Malcolm LaVergne, the executor of Simpson’s estate, has changed his tune since his previous inflammatory remarks. He’s likely discovered that if there are debts Simpson owes, they will need to be paid during probate.
“This is the first time I have been an executor of an estate, so the process has been a learning curve that I have to do very quickly because of the circumstances of this case,” LaVergne noted in a statement. “My intention is to keep the rhetoric and hyperbole down, and the actions to wind up Mr. Simpson’s estate the focus.”
How Are Creditor Claims Handled?
When a person dies, steps generally must be taken by the personal representative of their estate to notify their creditors so they can file a creditor’s claim to recoup the money they’re owed.
Many states, like California, require that all valid creditor claims be satisfied before the personal representative makes distributions to beneficiaries or heirs. This is generally non-negotiable.
Secured Debt vs. Unsecured Debt
If an estate has the financial means to satisfy all valid creditor claims, the personal representative usually must take steps to do so.
That said, the laws in many states provide that certain types of debt take priority over others. Therefore, if an estate runs out of funds before all debts are paid, the lower-priority creditors could be out of luck. Some states differentiate priority based on whether a debt is secured or unsecured. A secured debt means that the debt is backed by collateral (like a mortgage on your home, which is backed by the value of your home itself).
A civil judgment is a debt the court has ruled a defendant owes. In most instances, it is considered an unsecured debt, unless the holder of the judgment takes steps to obtain a lien on the defendant’s property.
In terms of the O.J. Simpson estate, whether the debt Simpson owed from the Fred Goldman vs. O.J. Simpson wrongful death case gets paid may depend, in large part, on whether Simpson’s estate has other creditor claims of a higher priority that need to be paid first.
What If an Estate Is Insolvent?
If a personal representative has determined an estate is insolvent, they must file a petition with the court to have it deemed as such.
When a deceased person’s estate becomes insolvent before their debts are paid, the beneficiaries and heirs of their estate generally won’t receive anything.
Additionally, which debts are paid first will depend on where they fall within the order of priority. For example, the Goldmans could receive nothing if the O.J. Simpson estate were to become insolvent after paying estate administration costs, since those would take precedence over creditor claims, which is what the Goldmans’ money judgment would be considered.
Because of the lack of information surrounding the assets in the O.J. Simpson estate, it is unclear whether it will have the funds to satisfy the money judgment from the wrongful death lawsuit. Though, it is possible that if Simpson’s NFL pension or trust has funds available, the Goldmans could pursue payment from these non-probate assets.
Probate assets comprise assets in a person’s estate. In other words, they are assets that do not have beneficiary designations and are not held in trust. Assets with beneficiary designations can include assets such as a deceased person’s bank accounts, retirement accounts and life insurance policies.
Will the O.J. Simpson Estate Be Forced to Satisfy the Debt?
What Malcolm LaVergne quickly learned upon stepping into his role as executor is that his responsibilities as executor trump any loyalty he has to O.J. Simpson as his former lawyer. It seems that he’s finally realized he has no choice but to ethically perform the steps of the probate process as directed by the law. This means satisfying as many valid creditor claims as he can with the assets in the estate.
If LaVergne fails to satisfy the civil judgment Simpson owed to the Goldmans despite the estate having the funds to pay, he could be held liable for executor misconduct, which could result in him being ordered to pay damages from his own pockets. LaVergne must remember that he owes fiduciary duties to all interested parties, including creditors.
That said, if the O.J. Simpson estate does not have sufficient funds to pay the judgment, it is possible the Goldmans and Browns could receive nothing or only a portion of the judgment they’re owed.
Takeaway: It May Be Easier to Collect Judgments at Death
While collecting a judgment from a defendant can be a challenge during the defendant’s lifetime because of the countless approaches they could use to evade the judgment, the process can become much easier at death.
In general, the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate is more concerned about protecting themselves against liabilities than they are with keeping the deceased person’s assets out of the reach of creditors, which increases the likelihood that all valid debts will be paid if the estate has the funds to pay them.
Of course, this is not to say that creditor claims cannot be challenged. If there are reasons to doubt the validity of a creditor claim, they certainly can be. However, in the case of the debt O.J. Simpson owed for his civil judgment, it is likely still valid as long as the Goldmans took the steps necessary to keep the judgment valid and enforceable.
Hence, while Simpson may have used every trick in the book to avoid satisfying the judgment during his lifetime, it’s unlikely his estate will be offered the same leniency.
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