OJ Simpson has responded to a lawsuit filed by the grieving father of Ron Goldman, claiming he is dragged into court every time the family merely 'hear a rumor' he's making money, according to papers obtained by DailyMail.com.
The former athlete filed his papers to a Los Angeles court on January 17, saying his attempts to 'readjust to civilian life and family life' had been 'shattered' by Fred Goldman.
Lawyers for Simpson, who is accused of dodging his responsibility to pay the family of Ron Goldman over his wrongful death lawsuit, say that there only needs to be 'a mere vague allegation involving Mr. Simpson's commercial exploitation of himself' and he finds himself back in court.
In November, Goldman attempted to stop the disgraced athlete from avoiding paying out the millions of dollars he owes from his son Ron's wrongful death payout.
Simpson was famously acquitted of the double murder of Nicole and Ron in 1995, but a civil court jury in 1997 found Simpson liable for their deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages to their families.
Goldman's lawyers claim that the total amount of damages Simpson is on the hook for has ballooned due to $71 million, as they believe the 70-year-old is living the high life in Las Vegas.
However, Simpson's lawyers argue in his response that the disgraced football star is surviving on just his NFL pension and social security.
They note that their client did take part in a one off, brief autograph session shortly after his release from prison, but said that the money was used to pay off some of his legal debt to another attorney.
OJ 'has no continuing or future interest in signing memorabilia', an attorney added.
Simpson says he has had a lot of opportunities to make money but has rejected all of them with the exception of the autograph session.
The Juice concedes that there has been discussions about the potential of a future deal, but nothing has been finalized.
'Mr Simpson has not engaged in any commercially exploitative activity,' one of Simpson's attorneys said in the response on January 17. 'Mr Simpson simply wishes to readjust to civilian and family life, and for the past three months has attempted to do just that.
But the lawyer argues that Goldman's repeated filings 'are intent on shattering' his return to civilian life and any attempts to earn a living.
'If Mr. Simpson is consistently forced to respond to discovery every two weeks, he will be left with no time to earn a living,' states the response.
Enforcement lawyer David Cook, who represents Ron's father Fred Goldman, has been unsuccessfully trying to access the former star's assets for years. Cook told CBS San Francisco the amount has swelled to $71 million due to interest.
Goldman said in November that he is worried that Simpson has been keeping cash from appearances and could be selling memorabilia.
And while he is attempting to collect the debt Simpson owes, the former NFL player has been living a life of luxury in Las Vegas - partying and playing golf.
Cook previously told DailyMailTV in September that Simpson would want to monetize his name once he was released from prison and would most likely create what's known as a loan-out corporation to which he can transfer his intellectual property rights.
He said the loan-out would receive any money Simpson gets through media or business deals and will be difficult to find.
'It's a matter of getting a bee-line of what projects he has in the future and attempt to intercept the money before he gets it,' said Cook.
Cook, of Cook Collection Attorneys in San Francisco, has been an enforcement lawyer for 43 years. He says he's in 'good health' and is happy to 'grow old' chasing Simpson's money.
'My message to OJ is real easy, pay the judgment, grow up, you went to trial you lost, admit your guilt and start paying this thing. He's in absolute denial and that's got to end.'
He added: 'When OJ Simpson was riding in that White Bronco he tossed his soul out the window, this man is completely without a soul.'
Goldman filed documents to divert any money Simpson made from any interviews, shows, presentations or exhibitions to help pay the $71 million wrongful death judgment he owes.
If he were to take cash - for example, from signing autographs - but not declare it, he would violate federal law and his parole. He could then end up back in jail.
The Goldman family launched a legal bid to relieve Simpson of any money he makes from giving interviews following his release, DailyMail.com revealed in October.
But in court documents, filed on January 17 and obtained by DailyMail.com, Simpson's lawyers argued that the motion for assignment of their clients' right to publicity were too vague and could be ‘tantamount of involuntary servitude’ as it would allowed Goldman to 'commercially exploit' OJ as he 'would see fit.'
In court documents filed in November, Goldman also argued that the first hearing date of July 3, 2018 was too far away and that Simpson in the meantime 'could flood the market with sports memorabilia' and try to keep all the money for himself.
He proposed reducing the time allowed between issuing inspection demands on Simpson's income from 120 days to 30 days, and cutting his response time from 30 days to 15.
Simpson's lawyers rejected the proposals outright, saying they would disrupt their client's life unnecessarily. They argued that Goldman and Cook based their demands on 'unconfirmed stories from news media outlets... in order to generate false rumors of commercial activity' to drag their client into court without proper evidence.
Lawyers acting for the Goldmans previously filed a motion in Santa Monica, California demanding the former NFL star disclose any attempts 'to monetize himself'.
Court papers seen by DailyMail.com in October show the Goldman family is 'concerned that Mr. Simpson or others on his behalf are shopping a potential entertainment, interview, or similar platform through the media'.
While OJ's attorneys have denied the claims, Goldman's family said: 'We take issue with this statement. Our prior experience with Mr Simpson over many years indicates the contrary, that in fact he or his advisors, agents, attorneys, family members, or surrogates, are 'shopping' one or more entertainment, documentary, reality TV, or interview vehicles at this time.'
The legal filing adds: 'Such an asset would be subject to enforcement, which would include any revenues arising therefrom or any asset constituting a business opportunity or the like.'
Simpson's attorney said: 'Mr Simpson has no desire to conduct any interviews with the media, and certainly has no desire to solicit an interview for monetary gain'.
source-daily mail
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