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Fred Goldman can keep most of $8.5 million damage award
February 19, 1997
Web posted at: 8:40 p.m. EST
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Fred Goldman and his ex-wife have agreed that he will receive most of the $8.5 million in compensatory damages awarded by the O.J. Simpson civil jury.
Goldman, father of victim Ronald Goldman, will receive 85 percent, or $7.2 million; Sharon Rufo, the biological mother, will get 15 percent, or about $1.3 million.
Lawyers for the two parties agreed to those figures in the hope that the trial judge will not reduce the judgment. If that occurs, one lawyer told CNN that the estranged parents probably would renegotiate.
Earlier this month, a jury found Simpson liable for the 1994 slayings of Goldman and his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and awarded a total of $33.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995.
Goldman and his daughter, Kim, have expressed bitterness at having to share any of the compensatory damages with Rufo, whom they said was estranged from her son for at least 17 of his 25 years.
By law, the $12.5 million in punitive damages that jurors awarded to Goldman and Rufo is to be split 50-50. The other $12.5 million in punitive damages targeted for the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson is to be divided evenly between the two children she had with Simpson.
The compensatory-damages proposal was being filed with Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki on Wednesday. Once the judge officially enters a notice of judgment, Simpson will be granted a 10-day stay before the families of Goldman and the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson can begin the lengthy process of seizing Simpson's assets.
Simpson's lawyers can further delay this, lawyers say, by asking for an extension while they file pre-appeal motions.
Correspondent Charles Feldman contributed to this report.
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Related stories:
- Goldman: I'll give up millions if Simpson confesses - February 12, 1997
- Simpson vows his case is far from over - February 11, 1997
- Simpson jury awards $25 million in punitive damages - February 10, 1997
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