The estate of O.J. Simpson has agreed to pay nearly $58 million to Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman, marking a significant step toward settling a decades-old wrongful death judgment.

The executor of Simpson’s estate, Malcolm LaVergne, filed court documents accepting Fred Goldman’s creditor claim for $57,997,858.12, plus interest, TMZ reported. The amount stems from a 1997 civil court ruling where Simpson was found liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.

Simpson, a former football star, was famously acquitted of their murders in a highly publicized 1995 criminal trial. However, the subsequent civil case brought by the Goldman family resulted in a $33.5 million judgment against him. Most of that amount remained unpaid at the time of Simpson’s death from cancer in April 2024.

Mr. LaVergne told TMZ that the nearly $58 million figure was a “negotiated amount with Goldman,” who consistently pursued the civil judgment for nearly 30 years as the only available means of holding Simpson accountable for his son’s death. 

The executor said the estate plans to pay as much as it can by auctioning off Simpson’s personal items, but the process has been complicated by the disappearance of some of Simpson’s belongings. Mr. LaVergne claimed that some items “have been stolen” and that he is “working with lawyers to regain possession.”

The new agreement represents a complete reversal for Mr. LaVergne, who said after Simpson’s death that he would fight to prevent the Goldman family from receiving any money from the estate. He quickly retracted that statement, promising to honor the court-ordered judgment.

In a surprising turn, Mr. LaVergne indicated a new level of cooperation between the two sides. He said he plans to ask the court to award Goldman a fee for “advising him on how to run the estate,” suggesting a closer working relationship than previously known.

Mr. LaVergne has rejected most other creditor claims against the estate, accepting only those from Goldman and the IRS. He said that paying federal taxes is the top priority, ahead of other claims, including one for approximately $636,945 from the state of California.