O.J. Simpson Owes Victims' Families Over Thirty Million Dollars As A Result Of A Civil Judgment

Rob Curtiss

Contributor

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Many of us are aware O.J. Simpson is back in the news as a result of criminal charges filed against him in Las Vegas. Most of us also know that the former football star was acquitted at his murder trial. What fewer people realize is that the families of the murder victims, Simpson's former wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman, brought a civil suit against him for money damages. This civil trial ended with the jury finding Simpson responsible for the two deaths and awarding the families over thirty million dollars.

I have represented several families that have filed civil suits because of the death of a loved one. Unlike the Simpson case, there was no suggestion of criminal conduct in the cases I have been involved with. However, a defendant does not have to act criminally to cause another's death - the death can be the tragic result of simple negligence. What the O.J. Simpson case does show though, is that family members have a civil remedy if they lose a loved one. And a civil wrongful death case need only be proved by a "preponderance of the evidence" which means that something is more likely than not rather than the exacting criminal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt."

http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/