$58,000 TV bill: When DirecTV sued OJ Simpson for piracy

As with most campaigns against individuals, this one didn’t end with a bang but a bang.

Cost and fees

After the judge ruled against Simpson, the only issue left was whether to repay the loan.

DirecTV requested $20,000 under two separate orders, a total of $40,000. The judge said that Simpson “did not use the equipment for sale or resale,” so he denied the request. Instead, DirecTV received $15,000 in damages under the first order and $10,000 under the second, for a total of $25,000.

The higher cost, however, comes from legal fees. DirecTV filed a motion to have Simpson pay his attorneys after losing, and a judge agreed to pay $33,678.

The court issued a final decision on November 29, 2005, stating that “Juice” owed DirecTV $58,678. It was expensive, yes, but somehow, Simpson got cheap. When the record companies launched their own legal campaign, college students and single women became victims $675,000 or even Judgments for $1.92 million.

With that final verdict, some of the long court cases that defined Simpson’s later years ended.

Simpson soon had bigger problems than TV piracy, though; two years later, in September 2007, he and other men with guns checked into a hotel room at the Palace Station in Las Vegas and, in just six minutes, he did things that put him in prison.

Being called a satellite TV pirate does not mean OJ’s legacy, no. Well, the story is a bit of a footnote. But it’s still a fascinating example of what happens as an anti-theft campaign, with serious charges sweeping a celebrity like “Juice” — and squeezing him for $58,678.