Lawyer: Simpson, Brown family working on amicable custody deal

Simpson is battling to keep custody of his two children with Nicole Brown

May 10, 1999
Web posted at: 9:56 p.m. EDT (0156 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- O.J. Simpson and the parents of his slain ex-wife are trying to work out a custody agreement for his two children in order to avoid a second custody trial, according to Simpson's attorney.

Bernard Leckie, who represents Simpson, said Monday that "nothing is formalized," but that he responded a week ago to a Brown family proposal to settle the dispute.

"It's in the best interest of the children that this not be dragged out through the courts any further," he said.

He would not discuss details of the proposal.

But Becky Rickley, a spokeswoman for the Browns' attorney, Natasha Roit, denied the report.

"This is not correct. This is simply not true. There is no agreement," she told Reuters.

Louis and Juditha Brown began battling Simpson for custody of Sydney, 13, and Justin, 10, after he was found not guilty in October 1995 of murdering Nicole Brown and her friend, Ron Goldman.

During the year Simpson spent in jail before his acquittal, the Browns had custody of the two children. When Simpson was freed, the children moved in with him, but the Browns sued for permanent custody.

Simpson was granted custody in the first civil proceeding.

In February 1997, he was found responsible in a wrongful death civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the families of both victims.

And late last year, a California appeals court granted the Browns a new custody trial, saying the judge in the earlier custody proceeding erred by refusing to include evidence that implicated Simpson in the 1994 murders.

Simpson later appealed to the California Supreme Court, which rejected his petition, clearing the way for the second custody trial.

Reuters contributed to this report.