Simpson Lawyer Reportedly Will Stay on Case

O.J. Simpson’s lead attorney, Robert C. Baker, has agreed to continue defending the former football star in lawsuits against him after receiving at least a portion of his fee, a source close to Simpson’s defense said Wednesday.

Baker was unavailable for comment, but the source said that a friend of Simpson came up with the money as Baker was on the verge of quitting because he had not been paid.

The source said that it was unclear how much money was involved, but the issue was resolved Tuesday night at a meeting in West Los Angeles.

In addition, Michael Brewer, one of the lawyers pressing the wrongful death suits against Simpson, confirmed that Baker had informed the other attorneys in the case late Wednesday that he plans to continue.

Baker “reaffirmed to me that they are in the case and expect to continue the representation of Mr. Simpson,” Brewer said.

Baker, who was not present for the pretrial deposition of Faye Resnick last weekend, was on hand Wednesday when Brian “Kato” Kaelin, America’s most famous house guest, took up temporary lodging in a West Los Angeles law office and underwent a grueling round of questioning.

Kaelin’s daylong interrogation was the first of several that he is expected to undergo as part of a pretrial deposition in the suits filed by the families and estates of murder victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman.

Kaelin was questioned Wednesday by Daniel M. Petrocelli, lead attorney for Goldman’s father, Fred.

During that process, Brewer said, Simpson muttered derogatory comments under his breath in response to some of Kaelin’s answers.

“O.J. reacted several times. He made statements that were inappropriate,” said Brewer, who represents Sharon Ruffo, Ronald Goldman’s mother.

“He said things out loud. . . . The comments I heard were derogatory.”

Petrocelli plans to question Kaelin not only about Simpson’s movements on the night of the murders, but about Simpson’s relationship with his ex-wife in the preceding months.

Kaelin is in a position to give a firsthand account of how the couple fared, since he resided with both at various times during that period.

As the only person who saw Simpson immediately before and after the time that the murders are thought to have occurred, Kaelin is key to Simpson’s alibi.

Fred Goldman left the deposition at midday, saying he had a business appointment. But Simpson, who also attended the deposition of his former girlfriend, Paula Barbieri, remained throughout the day.

The mop-haired Kaelin drew a small crowd of reporters when he arrived Wednesday morning, clad in jeans and a striped T-shirt. With the deposition going on behind closed doors, reporters had little to occupy them until another familiar face from Simpson’s criminal trial appeared.

Michael Knox, who was dismissed from the murder trial’s jury and later wrote a book about his experience, turned up in his capacity as a professional courier to deliver a package to the building where the deposition was conducted.

As he left, Knox quipped that, if needed, he is prepared to serve as a juror again.

Meanwhile, at a court hearing in Santa Monica on Wednesday, Simpson’s lawyers agreed to give the plaintiffs documents disclosing his net worth by Feb. 21.

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Times staff writer Kenneth Chang contributed to this story.