Judge blocks OJ Simpson book compensation

A judge has prevented OJ Simpson from receiving any further compensation from a cancelled book deal and TV interview and ordered the rights to be auctioned off.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg ordered the auction for the rights to “If I Did It,” in which the former National Football League star was to explain how he might have committed the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

The book and TV interview were never released amid public outrage.

The proceeds from the auction and any subsequent book profits will be turned over to Goldman’s family, which has been trying to collect a $33.5m (€25.4m) civil judgment from Simpson in a wrongful death lawsuit.

“This is a guarantee that if they ever publish this thing, Mr. Simpson won’t see a dime from it,” Goldman family lawyer Jonathan Polak said.

Simpson’s lawyers called the judge’s decision a “hollow victory” for the Goldman family.

“What they are seeking is whatever intangible property Mr Simpson has relating to this book,” Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said. “There isn’t a book. There isn’t anything.”