Executor seeks to sell OJ Simpson’s personal items at auction
The executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate has asked for a judge’s permission to auction off property belonging to the acquitted murder suspect and former football player.
Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime Las Vegas attorney who Simpson named as his estate’s executor, began probate proceedings in May, a month after Simpson died at his Las Vegas home. LaVergne is now asking for court authorization to sell several of Simpson’s items, including his vehicle, golf clubs, and a Heisman Trophy that Simpson owned, although a petition filed Tuesday noted that it was unclear if the trophy was authentic or a replica.
The petition noted that Simpson’s items may be more valuable than those in typical probate cases, and could draw “significant interest from the public for purchase.”
“Given the high-profile nature of the Decedent, as well as the unique nature of the personal property, Mr. LaVergne seeks an order of this Court which gives him authority to enter into contracts with auction houses to sell the personal property of the Decedent in order to maximize the value of the Estate for the benefit of creditors and other interested persons,” LaVergne’s attorneys wrote in the petition.
Simpson died at 76 from prostate cancer. He rose to fame as a football star and became known as the man acquitted in the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in 1994.
He also faced legal troubles in Las Vegas and was convicted in a 2007 robbery of sports memorabilia from a Palace Station hotel room, for which he was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. Simpson was released from a Nevada prison in 2017.
The full extent of Simpson’s estate remains unknown.
LaVergne had told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he would fight to prevent the payout of a $33.5 million judgment awarded by a jury in 1997 to the families of Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. He later walked back those remarks, and said he intends to resolve all potential creditors claims against the estate.
A hearing on Tuesday’s petition is scheduled for July 26, court records show.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
