Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are calling Michael Oher’s claims that they enriched themselves at his expense “outlandish,” “hurtful and absurd” and a part of a “shakedown” by the previous NFL offensive sort out, whose relationship with the household was the inspiration for the film “The Blind Side.”
In the assertion first issued Tuesday by legal professional Martin Singer to TMZ.com and later obtained by The Associated Press, Singer mentioned the Tuohys are heartbroken and accused Oher of threatening to plant a unfavourable story about them until they paid him $15 million.
Singer mentioned the Tuohys hope Oher regrets his latest choices and that they’ll reconcile.
“In the meantime, however, they will not hesitate to defend their good names, stand up to this shakedown and defeat this offensive lawsuit,” the assertion says.
Oher filed a petition Monday in Shelby County Probate Court asking a decide to terminate a conservatorship initiated by the Tuohys in 2004 – months after he turned 18.
“Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys,” in line with his petition.
He moved in with the Tuohys simply earlier than his senior 12 months of highschool and later attended Sean Tuohy’s alma mater, Mississippi. Oher asks for a full accounting of his property contemplating his life story produced thousands and thousands of {dollars} and he says he acquired nothing.
Oher, who has by no means been a fan of the film about his life, additionally asks within the petition that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required to pay each compensatory and punitive damages decided by the court docket.
The Tuohy household assertion says the concept they sought to revenue off Oher is “not only offensive, it is transparently ridiculous.” The assertion notes the Tuohys are price “hundreds of millions of dollars” and the notion they’d “connive to withhold a few thousand dollars” defies perception.
“They have consistently treated him like a son and one of their three children,” Singer mentioned within the assertion. “His response was to threaten them, including saying that he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million.”
The assertion says brokers negotiated a small advance from the manufacturing firm for the Oscar-nominated film “The Blind Side,” which was based mostly on the e book written by Sean Tuohy’s good friend Michael Lewis. That included “a tiny percentage of net profits” divided equally with the Tuohys making “good on that pledge.”
Singer notes proof exists in revenue participation checks and studio accounting statements for the film that received Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
When Oher refused to money what the assertion calls “small profit checks” as a part of his “shakedown effort,” the assertion says the Tuohys deposited Oher’s share right into a belief account arrange for his son.
The Tuohys insist they acquired “not one penny” as Oher’s conservators and set it up solely to assist him with medical insurance, a driver’s license and being admitted to varsity. The assertion says the Tuohys won’t oppose Oher’s want to finish their conservatorship.
Singer mentioned within the assertion that Oher has tried this “several times before” solely to have attorneys cease representing him as soon as they realized the reality. The assertion referred to as this a “cynical attempt” as a part of Oher’s newest e book tour.
Oher was the twenty third general choose within the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, and he spent his first 5 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens the place he received a Super Bowl. He performed 110 video games over eight NFL seasons, together with 2014 when he began 11 video games for the Tennessee Titans. Oher completed his profession with two years in Carolina.
He final performed in 2016 and was launched in 2017 by Carolina.
• Associated Press Writer Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com