MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A judge has not said how she will rule after the latest court hearing in the ongoing saga between NFL star Michael Oher and the Memphis couple who took him, which led to the hit movie ‘The Blind Side.’
The next court conference on the matter is set for December.
Oher had previously filed a motion asking for an injunction against Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy to keep them from using his name and likeness for their speaking engagements and to raise money for their charitable foundation.
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy filed the documents Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, with the Shelby County Probate Court asking that the motion by Oher for a temporary injunction be denied.
In court Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, the Tuohy’s attorney argued that the family should be allowed to use Oher’s name and image because he was a part of their family, and they have a right to share their family’s story. The attorney also noted Oher used the Tuohy’s name in his own book where he talked about being a member of the family, and argued the Tuohys should be allowed to do the same.
Oher’s attorneys said the former Ole Miss and NFL star don’t take issue with the use of his name, except when it’s used to market their speeches and foundation, which the lawyer said the law prohibits.
"If they were made famous by the movie, why do they need to use his name and likeliness to hawk her motivational speeches?" Don Barrett, Oher's attorney asked.
"There's no victory here for the Tuohy's,” said the couple’s attorney. “There is nothing to be won by the granting of this motion for summary judgment. They simply want to continue doing the work they've been doing and to continue telling the story that was an inspiration.”
The court did not address the issue of money Other feels he is due from the Tuohys.
Tuohys agreed to remove ‘adopted’ references
Previously, a lawyer for the Tuohys said references to Oher being their adopted son would be removed from the couple's websites and public speaking materials, but they still wanted to use his name.
References to Oher being adopted had been a key argument by Oher in his efforts to force the Tuohys to account for money made from the film ‘The Blind Side,’ which focuses on Oher's story and his relationship with the Tuohys. The film earned Sandra Bullock an Oscar.
The ongoing legal battle
The legal battle became public in August 2023, when Oher said in a court filing that the Tuohys misled him into thinking they adopted him when they entered into a conservatorship agreement with Oher in 2004, when he was 18.
In September 2023, Shelby County Probate Judge Kathleen Gomes ended the conservatorship, which allowed the Tuohys to control Oher's finances. Oher, who had a troubled childhood, signed the agreement when he was living with the couple as he was being recruited by colleges as a star high school football player.
In a November court filing, the Tuohys said they received payments from the film's proceeds from 20th Century Fox and gave Oher one-third of the money, which came out to $138,311.
In a separate filing, Oher challenged that, arguing the filing it does not account for millions generated by public speaking events and alleging Sean Tuohy kept $2.5 million given to him by Oher to invest for him. He called the Tuohys accounting documents provided to the court "contradictory, confusing, false in material ways, and wholly inadequate."
The Tuohys have called the claims they enriched themselves at his expense outlandish, hurtful and absurd and part of a "shakedown" by Oher. In a previous court filing, the affluent couple said they loved Oher like a son and provided him with food, shelter, clothing and cars while he lived with them, but denied saying they intended to legally adopt him.
The Tuohys' filing said Oher referred to them as "mom and dad," and they occasionally referred to Oher as a son. They acknowledged that websites show them referring to Oher as an adopted son, but the term was only used "in the colloquial sense and they have never intended that reference to be viewed with legal implication."
Oher was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi, and he spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl. He played 110 games over eight NFL seasons, including 2014 when he started 11 games for the Tennessee Titans. Oher finished his career with the Carolina Panthers.
ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
