Lawyers for Michael Oher want the Tuohys to stop using his name
Former NFL football player Michael Oher, whose story became the inspiration for the Oscar-nominated movie "The Blind Side," signs books at an event for his new memoir at a store in Baltimore Aug. 21. The Memphis couple who took in former NFL offensive lineman Oher when he was in high school denied in court documents filed Sept. 14 that they used a legal agreement between them to get rich at his expense and lied about intending to adopt him. (Stephen Whyno/AP file)
Lawyers for retired NFL star Michael Oher are asking a Shelby County court to temporarily stop Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy from using his name, image and likeness, arguing they have done so for years for their own monetary gain and without his consent.
Oher, 37, has been battling the Tuohys in court about a conservatorship put in place in 2004 that gave the couple control over Oher’s finances, education and medical decisions as well as the ability to sign contracts on his behalf. He says the Tuohys tricked him into signing the paperwork under the guise that it was an adoption.
Oher, whose life story rose to prominence with the 2009 film “The Blind Side,” filed a petition to end the conservatorship Aug. 14 in Shelby County Probate Court. The court’s Division 1 Judge Kathleen Gomes granted that petition Sept. 29.
In addition to asking for an end to the conservatorship, Oher has also asked for an accounting of the funds the Tuohys allegedly received while acting as his conservators and that he be paid any money that was withheld from him in that time.
That accounting was filed Nov. 8 and showed Oher was paid $138,311.01, which represented about a third of “The Blind Side” proceeds designated for the Tuohys after a 10% commission was paid to a production agency.
Lawyers for Oher questioned the accounting in the new filing, saying the Tuohys and their biological children have earned “millions of dollars” in revenue using Oher’s name while not paying him anything.
Citing the Tennessee Personal Rights Protection Act — a state law that protects name, image and likeness rights for individuals — Oher’s lawyers argued the Tuohy’s have violated it by knowingly using his name in an advertisement, like one for a speaking engagement Leigh Anne Tuohy did at Eastern Florida State College.
They also argued they have continued to refer to him as their adopted son on their website.
“Be motivated by Leigh Anne Tuohy – successful businesswoman, talented interior designer, and the adoptive mother of NFL football star Michael Oher. Their inspirational true story was featured in the best-selling book ‘The Blindside: Evolution of a Game’ and its acclaimed filed adaption in which Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy,” the advertisement for the Florida college speaking engagement reads.
Oher’s lawyers say he has been “irreparably” harmed by the Tuohys’ continued use of his name.
“In fact, the former co-conservators’ fictional story of their adoption of Mr. Oher and their acquiescence of the portrayal of him in ‘The Blindside’ book and movie as being ‘slow’, ‘unintelligent’, and/or developmentally challenged are utterly false and without merit,” the lawyers said.
Topics
Michael Oher Sean Tuohy Leigh Anne TuohyAarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming covers public safety for The Daily Memphian, focusing on crime and the local court system. He earned his bachelor’s in journalism and strategic media from the University of Memphis.
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