In a significant development nearly three decades after the infamous 1994 murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s estate has formally agreed to pay a multi-million-dollar settlement to Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman.
Ron Goldman was murdered alongside Nicole Brown Simpson outside her Brentwood home in June 1994 — a crime that ignited one of the most watched and polarizing trials in modern American history. O.J. Simpson, once a celebrated NFL star and Hollywood personality, was acquitted of the killings in 1995 after a year-long televised trial that captivated the world.
Despite his acquittal, the Goldman and Brown families pursued civil action. In 1997, they won a wrongful death judgment against Simpson totaling more than $33 million. Only a fraction of that amount was ever paid.
Simpson died in April 2024 at the age of 76, triggering renewed legal efforts from the Goldman family to recover the long-unpaid damages. Three months after his death, Fred Goldman filed a claim for $57,997,858.12, plus additional judgment interest — a figure that later rose to more than $117 million when interest calculations were updated.
Earlier this month, according to documents filed in Clark County District Court in Nevada, the late NFL star’s estate — overseen by executor Malcolm LaVergne — accepted the claim and agreed to move forward with payment calculations. LaVergne told TMZ that the estate aims to pay as much as possible, but alleged that several valuable items—which could have been auctioned to satisfy the debt—were stolen. He added that he is working with lawyers to recover those assets.
While the estate acknowledges the debt, the Goldman family’s attorney emphasized that this “positive acknowledgment” does not equate to money in hand. Instead, it allows the probate process to advance. Payments will not begin until the estate settles its obligations with the IRS and the State of California, including more than $636,000 in tax liabilities.
The estate’s recent cooperation marks a notable shift in tone. LaVergne had previously vowed never to pay the Goldman family but has since reversed his stance, now working toward what court documents describe as a “more accurate” calculation of interest.
