SM COURTHOUSE — O.J. Simpson’s former manager has been ordered by a Santa Monica judge to keep the former football star’s so-called acquittal suit in storage until it is determined who rightfully owns it.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg heard Monday from a lawyer for Fred Goldman, who is seeking to sell the brownish-green suit Simpson wore to court when he was acquitted on murder charges in 1995 to satisfy a civil judgment against Simpson.
Fred Goldman is the father of Ronald Goldman, who was slain alongside Simpson’s ex-wife 15 years ago. Simpson was ordered to pay a civil judgment of $33.5 million for the murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
The judge also heard from Mike Gilbert, the manager who said Simpson gave him the suit the day after his Oct. 3, 1995, acquittal on murder charges. Gilbert claims it is his property because at that point Simpson had not been found civilly liable for the two deaths.
“I should have worn it today,” he quipped to the judge.
Gilbert told the judge that he had the jacket, trousers and dress shirt locked in a storage unit near his home in Fresno.
Simpson’s current lawyer says the garments are fakes.
The judge gave attorneys for Goldman permission to depose Gilbert about other items he has that are connected to Simpson. The agent said a host of Simpson memorabilia — footballs, golf clubs and even the retired athlete’s Bentley — has been turned over to authorities in the last dozen years, but he refused to give the Goldman attorneys an accounting of items he currently has.
According to his comments at the courthouse, those items range from the Coke can he drank from during his first visit to Simpson’s home two decades ago to 5,000 envelopes he paid Simpson to autograph at the time of his murder trial. Also during the hearing, the two collectibles dealers Simpson was convicted of robbing in Las Vegas said they will contest a planned sheriff’s sale of two boxes of memorabilia used as evidence last year in the Nevada trial.
Simpson is serving nine to 33 years for armed robbery and kidnapping. The victims, Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley, told the judge they will argue that jerseys and other items belong to them. A hearing is scheduled for next month.
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