O.J. Simpson is out of prison, but he's not completely free of his past debts. He's doing a good job of outrunning them, though.
The Buffalo Bills legend and Heisman Trophy winner was released from prison last year after serving nearly 10 years for armed robbery and kidnapping, and he seems to be doing OK for himself on the outside. He's living in Nevada, hanging out with fans, and signing autographs for money.
However, Simpson still owes Fred Goldman for the the wrongful death settlement of Fred's son, Ron. Now, Goldman is making a push in court to collect some of Simpson's memorabilia profits to satisfy the $70 million judgment.
Unfortunately for Goldman, the court denied his request for restitution on Tuesday, saying that Goldman first needs to identify who is paying Simpson.
Ron Goldman was famously murdered alongside Simpson's estranged wife, Nicole Brown, in 1994. In one of the most high-profile court cases in history, Simpson was acquitted of two counts of murder, but he did lose a $33.5 million wrongful death civil court lawsuit in 1997. That judgment has since doubled.
According to O.J.'s lawyer, Simpson only reluctantly signed memorabilia after his release from prison in order to pay legal fees. He claims his client has no interest in selling autographs for personal profit.
This is the latest development in Goldman's fight for restitution, which has gone on for decades. According to Goldman and his lawyer, Simpson "sought to subvert this wrongful death judgment by his abject refusal to pay, much less accept personal responsibility."
Although the payment for damages have been hard to come by, Goldman's pursuit hasn't been entirely fruitless.
While most of the court award has been unpaid, Fred Goldman has been able to seize some of the Pro Football Hall of Famer's assets, including video game royalties and the rights to the book "If I Did It," a ghostwritten account in which Simpson tells how he might have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
Although something is better than nothing, Goldman still has a long way to go before he claims what was awarded to him in a court of law over two decades ago.
