O.J. Simpson`s book rights may go to victim`s dad
O.J. Simpson set up a shell company to hide his book profits from the family of Ron Goldman, which is trying to collect a wrongful death judgment against the former football star, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday.
Lorraine Brooke Associates, a now-bankrupt Miami company owned by Simpson`s four children, was a mere conduit to hold the rights for Simpson`s book, "If I Did It," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jay Cristol ruled.
The book was billed as a hypothetical account of how Simpson could have murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Goldman. Publisher Harper Collins scrapped it in November amid a public uproar.
Simpson said he did not commit the 1994 killings and a jury acquitted him of murder in 1995, but Goldman`s family won a $38 million wrongful death judgment against him two years later.
A California court ruled that Lorraine Brooke Associates was a surrogate company for Simpson and ordered an auction of the book rights with the proceeds going to Goldman`s father, Fred Goldman.
The Miami company filed for bankruptcy four days before the auction was scheduled in April, halting the auction.
The Miami bankruptcy judge`s finding clears the way for Fred Goldman to pursue a claim to the book rights, which are held by a court-appointed trustee for the bankrupt company, said one of Fred Goldman`s lawyers, David Cook.
"Judge Cristol ruled that Lorraine Brooke Associates is a speed bump on Goldman`s journey, for his quest to justice," Cook said.
He said Goldman would sell the rights to publish the book under a revised name -- "I Did It," or possibly "Confessions of an Acquitted Murderer."
Cook said the Goldmans had so far collected only about $2,000 from Simpson, mostly from his movie royalties.
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