Tuohys respond to Oher injunction request, quote texts in filing،
Michael Oher demanded millions of dollars from the wealthy couple whose story of helping him escape poverty and make it to the NFL was immortalized in “The Blind Side,” according to a court filing on behalf of the couple, threatening to publicly call them thieves if they didn't pay him the money he thought should come from the profits of the hit film.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy filed documents in their ongoing dispute with Oher in Shelby County Probate Court in Tennessee on Monday, citing text messages in which Oher asked them for money twice since 2021. In one of them, he asked for $10 million, before increasing his request to $15. million when the couple refused to pay.
“If something is not resolved [sic] this friday i'm going to go ahead and tell the world how i was stolen from by my supposed to be [sic] parents. This is the deadline,” Oher wrote in a text, according to the filing.
He added: “Think about what this will look like when this comes out. »
In another message, Oher reportedly wrote: “This fun will end soon. I can't wait to fill out these documents. »
In another missive, Oher reportedly wrote, “Call my lawyer if you want to negotiate,” before adding, “Let me head to social media.”
Monday's filing is the latest salvo in the ongoing legal battle between the former NFL offensive lineman and the Tuohys. The texts were offered to support the Tuohys' request that a judge deny Oher's request for a temporary injunction that would prevent them from using his name, image and likeness.
Although the couple told a probate judge last week that any mention of the couple's adoption of Oher would be removed from their websites and materials used to market their public appearances, they are clinging to the right to 'use his name. They claim that “Mr. Oher is part of their personal and family history,” which they have the right to tell.
The Tuohys say Oher threatened to take them to court for several years. He finally followed through in August, filing a court petition alleging the couple cheated him out of millions of dollars they made from the film. He also said a central part of the story — that the Tuohys adopted him — was a lie perpetrated by the family to enrich themselves.
Less than three months after Oher turned 18 in 2004, Oher said in the petition that the Tuohys tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them the right to enter into agreements. commercial agreements in his name.
The Tuohys fiercely denied cheating Oher out of money. In their legal filings, they claim they paid Oher $138,000 from the film's profits — the same amount they say went to each of them, as well as their two children.
Through their lawyers, the Tuohys acknowledged that they never legally adopted Oher as they have said in books and in public appearances, adding that they still loved him and treated him like a son. Their lawyers said the couple called their adopted son Oher “in the colloquial sense.”
Since Oher filed his petition, the court has terminated the conservatorship, although the financial aspects of the dispute remain unresolved. Beyond the money the film made, Oher asked the couple to pay him their fair share of the money the family made using his name, image and likeness. He also sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
