Goldman family buys rights to OJ’s cancelled book

THE family of Ron Goldman has purchased the rights to OJ Simpson’s cancelled book If I Did It from a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in the US.

The Goldmans want the book’s proceeds included as part of a $33.5 million (€24.6m) civil jury award against the ex-football star they have been trying to collect for almost a decade.

Ron Goldman was killed along with Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson in 1994. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a highly publicised criminal trial.

“Ron Goldman LLC will own Simpson’s name, likeness, signature and story and will hawk it to satisfy this terrible judgment. Justice has arrived in Miami,” family lawyer David Cook said.

The Goldmans own the copyright, media rights and movie rights. They also acquired Simpson’s name, likeness, life story and right of publicity in connection with the book, according to court documents.

The Goldmans want to rename the book Confessions of a Double Murderer and plan to shop it around to publishers.

“The contract and the rights are going to be circulated among every major publisher, literary agent, movie and TV producer and entertainment lawyer in the United States,” Cook said.

According to the settlement, the Goldmans must pay the bankruptcy trustee 10% of the first $4m in gross proceeds and a percentage of all proceeds beyond that.

But Simpson’s lawyer Yale Galanter said the bankruptcy trustee cannot sell the rights.

Last month, US bankruptcy judge Jay Cristol paved the way for yesterday’s settlement by upholding the Goldmans’ right to their claim. He also ruled that a company started by Simpson’s daughter was set up “to perpetuate fraud”.

Judge Cristol said that Lorraine Brooke Associates, which owned the rights to the book, was a shell to funnel profits to Simpson.

Simpson’s book contract with Harper Collins, and a money trail showing $630,000 transferred from the publisher to LBA and then to Simpson for his expenses, confirm his connection to the company, Cristol said.