Simpson Questioned on Future Expenses

A lawyer pressed O.J. Simpson on Monday to disclose how much he will be paying to rent a home now that he is being evicted from his Brentwood estate.

Simpson said he wasn’t sure what he could afford--maybe $6,000 a month.

“I can’t tell you what a dozen eggs cost,” Simpson said at one point, indicating he had not drafted a budget for his new life and wasn’t cognizant of his household expenses.

The transcript of Simpson’s in-chambers quizzing by attorney Gary Caris, representing Fred Goldman, was read in open court in Santa Monica as Simpson’s lawyer complained that the questions were repetitive and pointless as part of a debtors examination that has been going on sporadically for more than a month.

“Your honor, this could go on forever,” said attorney Ronald Slates. “None of this goes to discovery of assets.”

Caris complained that Simpson was evading questions, and the transcript showed that at times Simpson became exasperated and refused to answer.

“I make $16,000 to $17,000 a month [from a pension fund],” Simpson said. “I have no other income. What I do with that $16,000 to $17,000 isn’t any of your business.”

“I think it is my business,” Caris said.

Simpson responded, “Well, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it and that’s my answer.”

He told the lawyer: “I think I was pretty diligent working and putting together a pension fund. I spent most of my life preparing for--if I was broke for any reason--I’d be able to support my children in a comfortable lifestyle.”

Superior Court Judge David Perez upheld the objection by Simpson’s lawyer that the questioning was getting repetitive and said, “We need to move on.”

Simpson and the lawyers then retreated again to chambers.

Although Simpson was acquitted of murder during a criminal trial, civil jurors found him liable for the slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman during a wrongful death trial that ended earlier this year.

Those jurors said Simpson should pay a $33.5-million civil judgment to the Goldman and Brown families.

Simpson’s Brentwood estate was sold at auction this month for $2,631,259. The winning bidder was Hawthorne Savings.

It wasn’t clear when Simpson would have to move out of his six-bathroom house, with its tennis court, waterfalls and an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Outside the courthouse Monday, Simpson told reporters that he was broke and only had his retirement pension to live on.

“The facts are, there is nothing there for them,” Simpson said.

Caris said Simpson will be dealing with the Goldman family and attorneys for some time.

“I think Mr. Simpson thinks this is a one- or two-month nuisance, that we’re just being pests. At one point he referred to this whole process as boring,” Caris said.

“This is not a boring process, but it is a long-term process and Mr. Simpson has to realize that. We are not going to go away today or tomorrow or the next week or the next month,” the lawyer said.

Goldman wasn’t in court because he began a one-week stint as a radio show host in San Antonio. Simpson, when asked about Goldman’s radio job, said he wished Goldman well.