MY ADVICE TO FRED IS, DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH

OJ Simpson's estate closer to giving Fred Goldman whopping payout after he won wrongful death lawsuit

 

By James Cirrone  

 

Daily Mail

Nov 15, 2025

 

 

 

Ron Goldman, a friend of Nicole Brown Simpson's, was 25 years old when he was murdered in June 1994. Simpson was the only suspect in the double homicide outside his ex-wife's Brentwood home but was acquitted in 1995  

 

OJ Simpson's estate has taken a big step toward paying out the multi-million dollar civil judgment a California judge granted to Ron Goldman's family back in 1997.

The breakthrough comes over 31 years after Ron Goldman, 25, and Nicole Brown Simpson, the former football star's ex-wife, were brutally stabbed to death outside her home in Brentwood, a crime Simpson was acquitted of in 1995 after an eight-month trial. 

Malcolm Lavergne, the lawyer serving as the executor of the Simpson estate, told the Daily Mail he has officially accepted the nearly $58 million Fred Goldman, Ron's father, has demanded.

Earlier this week, Lavergne filed a document informing the Nevada Probate Court of his intention to agree to the massive payout. With interest, Lavergne said he expects the total number to come out to $70 million to $80 million.

This is a huge reversal from his comments last April when he said he hoped 'the Goldmans get zero, nothing,' adding that he would do everything in his power to 'ensure that they get nothing'.

The two sides still have to hammer out what the estate precisely owes in interest, a calculation Lavergne said is a 'pain in the butt' to work out since Nevada's court interest rate fluctuates twice a year based on the state's prime rate.

'He's not off by that much,' Lavergne said of the Goldman team's math. 'But he's off by enough that we need to work to get it right.'

The civil case originated in California, but since Simpson lived in Las Vegas from 2017 until his death in April 2024, it was nearly impossible for the state to enforce the decades-old judgment.

 

The estate of OJ Simpson (pictured in July 2017) has officially agreed to pay Ron Goldman's family $58 million plus interest.

Fred Goldman, Ron's father, has spent 31 years pursuing the tens of millions of dollars Simpson owes his family after a California judge found the ex-football player civilly liable for the murders

 

Court records indicate that Goldman, now 84, filed what's called a foreign judgment against Simpson in February 2021 in the state of Nevada.

That officially shifted the case over to Nevada, where Goldman asked for $58 million, a much lower amount than the $117 million he was previously seeking based on California's much friendlier payout structure to creditors.

Any interest the Goldman family will collect started accruing back in February 2021, when the claim was domesticated in Nevada.

Lavergne acknowledged that had Simpson stayed in California, Goldman likely would have had a much easier time getting paid out.

Lavergne explained that Goldman still has the right to object to final number offered by the estate. 

He also stressed that the best option for Goldman would be to come to him with any disagreements and not file any more motions in court.

Goldman didn't immediately return a request for comment. 

When asked if Goldman will realistically be able to collect on the majority of the judgment against Simpson's estate, Lavergne said 'the answer is no unless I buy a lottery ticket'.

'And I happen to know that OJ didn't win the lottery,' he said, adding that in the latter years of his life, he frequently gambled on sports.

 

Simpson is pictured with Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993, a year after the couple got divorced and a year before she was murdered

Simpson is pictured carrying the Olympic torch through the streets of Santa Monica for the 1984 Games. This is one possession that will be sold off to pay Simpson's creditors, which include the Goldmans and the IRS for unpaid taxes

 

Complicating matters further is the fact that Lavergne still has to settle Simpson's tax debt with the IRS, something he is prioritizing before he pays the Goldman family.

To actually come up with the money to pay Simpson's creditors, Lavergne is looking to auction off Simpson's last remaining valuables.

This includes his NFL Hall of Fame ring, an honor that was bestowed upon him in 1985, six years after he retired from the league in 1979.

It also includes the Olympic torch he carried through the streets of Santa Monica for the 1984 Games. Nicole Brown, then his girlfriend, jogged behind him during his segment of the relay.

'There's still a lot of work to do, but we're making progress,' Lavergne said.