31 years later, OJ Simpson estate agrees to claim of almost $58 million from Ron Goldman's father

Noble Brigham, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Nov 17, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson’s estate has approved a claim of almost $58 million for the father of Ron Goldman.

Fred Goldman won a civil judgment against the former NFL star over the 1994 killing of his son, a friend of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. Goldman had sought $117 million from the estate of Simpson, who died at his Las Vegas home in April 2024.

Administrator Malcolm LaVergne signed the approval filing electronically on Friday, court records show. The estate is also approving interest in addition to the nearly $58 million.

Because Simpson’s estate is worth much less than that figure, Goldman is unlikely to collect the full amount.

Currently, the total value of Simpson’s estate is approximately $400,000 to $500,000, according to LaVergne.

LaVergne, a Las Vegas attorney, was previously less willing to pay the Goldman family anything.

“It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after Simpson’s death. “Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”

He quickly walked back his comments, saying he would “deal with Fred Goldman’s claim in accordance with Nevada law.”

Michaelle Rafferty, an attorney for Goldman, said it was “far too soon” to determine what her client would actually receive from the estate.

“It’s a great milestone,” she said. “It’s an acknowledgment that the claim is valid and that the executor does not plan to challenge or fight the claim.”

But she said she could not yet say whether she and her client would be in agreement with the amount of $58 million, plus interest.

LaVergne said he and Goldman’s lawyers agreed “in principle” to the amount this May. He said he could not speculate on how much Goldman will actually be paid.

He expects Goldman to receive “the lion’s share” of the estate after he can resolve other claims, he said, and hopes he can increase the estate’s total value to $1 million.

The attorney said he wants to “get some type of closure for Fred” and “end this toxic environment” that started with the killings of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.

“All the exemptions that protected O.J. while he was alive, they all went away, and so it was just a foregone conclusion that as long as Fred Goldman procedurally did everything correctly, he would be accepted into the estate,” said LaVergne.

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