![Ex-NFL player Michael Oher sues over conservatorship Ex-NFL player Michael Oher sues over conservatorship](https://i0.wp.com/content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-579816206-e1692050138479.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
Michael Orr, ex NFL tackle Sean and Leigh Anne Toohey, known as the inspiration for the movie “The Flawless,” filed a petition Monday in Tennessee probate court alleging that Sean Anne Tohey and Leigh Anne Toohey lied to him and made him sign papers to make them his protectors, not his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago.
In a petition filed with Shelby County Probate Court on Monday, Oher is asking for an end to custody and a full accounting of income earned using his name and story. He also demanded payment of the amount due to him plus interest.
He accused the Toohey family of continuing to “falsely and publicly” portray themselves as his adoptive parents “until the date of filing this petition” for personal gain at his expense.
“Oher discovered this lie, much to his chagrin and embarrassment, in February 2023, when he learned that he had agreed to custody because doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family when, in fact, he and the Tuohy family There are no family ties. “Tuches,” the petition says.
because, who never liked a movie about his lifealso requested in the petition that the Tooheys be sanctioned and ordered to pay compensatory and punitive damages determined by the court.
The Tooheys’ attorney, Steve Frazer, told The Associated Press they will answer the allegations in court but declined to comment further. He was one of three attorneys to appear in court on Monday representing the Toohey family.
Leigh Anne Tuohy did not immediately reply via her personal website.Her husband told the Daily Memphis that custody is This was done to meet NCAA requirements, as Oher considered Tui’s alma mater, the University of Mississippi, as a branch campus.
Sean Tui said he and his wife would end custody if Oher wanted it.
“We’re devastated,” Tui said. “It’s frustrating to think we’re going to make money from any of our kids. But we’re going to love Michael at 37 as much as he was 16.”
The film was nominated for an Oscar, and Sandra Bullock wins Oscar For her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Oher accused the Toohees of never taking legal action to obtain custody from the Tennessee Department of Human Services until he turned 18. Custody papers were filed a few months after Oher turned 18 in May 2004.
Before his senior year of high school, he moved in with the Toohees and said he was told to call them “Mom” and “Daddy.” Oher said in the petition that he was encouraged to refer to attorneys who filed regulatory filings as “Auntie Debbie” Brannan.
Oher also alleges that the Toohey family had him sign papers almost immediately after he moved in as part of the adoption process. Oher said he was “falsely informed” that it would be called custody because he was 18, but the intention was for adoption.
“Michael was never informed by the Toohey family that they would have ultimate control over all of his contracts, so Michael did not understand that if receivership was granted, he was giving up his right to enter into contracts for himself,” according to the petition.
A book based on Oher’s life was published in September 2006. The petition describes the author, Michael Lewis, as a childhood friend of Sean Tuohy’s. Oher’s protectors have begun contract negotiations for the rights to the film, the petition says.
An agreement was reached to pay the Tuohys and their children, Sean Jr. and Collins, $225,000 and 2.5 percent of future determined net proceeds contingent on Oher’s signature, the petition said. A contract, titled the Life Story Rights Agreement, was “purportedly signed by Michael Orr” and dated April 20, 2007, the petition said.
Oher believed the signature to be similar to his own, but he “never voluntarily or knowingly signed the document, nor was he shown the contract and explained that he signed such a document,” the petition said. “
In the petition, Oher is asking for a full accounting of his assets and how they were used because his life story has brought him millions of dollars and he would not have acquired certain things without him rights, and he got nothing.
Oher, the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 Mississippi State draft, spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He ended up playing eight seasons in the NFL, including starting 11 games for the Tennessee Titans in 2014. Oher spent two years at Carolina, ending his career.
He started 110 games and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens. He also finished second in the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Minnesota’s Percy Harvin after starting all of his first seasons at right tackle. 16 games.
Oher, who turned 37 in May, last played in 2016. Carolina was released in 2017.
about two years ago when the fans cheered Britney Spears released from custody. The ruling comes after Spears publicly called to end the arrangement, which has prevented her from making medical, financial and personal decisions herself since 2008.
Spears’ high-profile battle has put a spotlight on efforts by advocates across the U.S. that have raised questions about how such tight controls could do more harm than protection.
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