OJ Simpson's estate executor vows to battle $33.5m payout to victims' families

Former National Football Association (NFL) star OJ Simpson's estate executor plans to prevent families of alleged murder victims from receiving funds from a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment, which found him liable for the killings, The Guardian reported.

Simpson, who died aged 76 earlier this week, was acquitted in 1995 of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in a court case dubbed "The Trial of the Century”, Malay Mail reported.

However, a 1997 civil trial found the athlete liable and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the victims' families.

Ron's father Fred pursued Simpson for decades to force him to pay a settlement, but it is believed that Simpson paid under $133,000, only a fraction of the 1997 amount, according to a 2021 report.

Simpson’s long-time lawyer Malcolm LaVergne told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Saturday that he was determined to ensure that the Goldman family not receive anything from Simpson’s estate.

"It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing," LaVergne was quoted by the paper as saying. "Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing."

According to the Review-Journal, LaVergne was named as executor of Simpson’s estate in court documents following the athlete's family's announcement of his death.

LaVergne told the Review-Journal that the exact value of Simpson’s estate was unclear.

"I can’t make a predication right now as to what the value of the estate is," LaVergne said.

According to LaVergne, Simpson had been diagnosed "several years ago" with prostate cancer, which went into remission before returning recently.

Fred greeted news of Simpson’s death as saying it was "no great loss" but just a "further reminder of Ron being gone all these years."