A JURY in Los Angeles has awarded $25 million in punitive damages against O.J. Simpson in favour of the estates of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, writes Joe Carroll in Washington.
Mr Simpson, who was not present in court for the judgment, was found liable for their deaths by the same jury last week. In the criminal trial in 1985 in which Mr Simpson was charged with their murders, he was found not guilty.
The jury in the civil case against Mr Simpson had earlier awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family. So the total damages he must now pay amount to $33.5 million.
The jury yesterday awarded $12.5 million each to the Goldman and Brown estates. For the Goldman award, the jury voted 11 to 1. For the Brown award it was 10 to 2.
It is possible that Mr Simpson will appeal against the amount of the punitive damages, but to do so he would have to post a bond of about $50 million with collateral.
Mr Simpson's lawyers have claimed that his net worth is now zero as a result of mortgages and liens on his various properties to pay for legal fees. His earning capacity has also dropped considerably, it is claimed.
But the plaintiffs' lawyers told the jury that Mr Simpson is really worth about $16 million. They also claim that his earning power in future is $1 million a year over 25 years. This may have influenced the jury to award the victims families $25 million in punitive damages.
The judgment will not be made final for about 10 days. The judge will now consider if the awards have been excessive. If he does find that this is the case, he can reduce the amounts.
Lawyers point out that the aim of punitive damages is not to destroy a defendant but to punish him. So if Mr Simpson is really virtually bankrupt, the damages may be reduced.
The question of the custody of Mr Simpson's children is bound to come up again following the civil trials finding that he was liable for the death of their mother, Nicole.
Last month, Mr Simpson won custody of the children from the Brown family who had been caring for them. The family is now expected to demand a new custody hearing.