Michael Oher, the former NFL star known for inspiring the movie The Blind Side, filed a petition Monday in Tennessee estate court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to her by getting her to sign papers naming them as her guardians rather than her adoptive parents nearly twenty years ago.
In the petition filed Monday in Shelby County Probate Court, Oher asks for the conservatorship to be ended and for all money made from the use of his name and story to be accounted to him. . He also asks to be paid what is owed to him, as well as the interest.
He accuses the Tuohy family of enriching themselves at his expense by continuing to “falsely and publicly” present themselves as his adoptive parents “until the date of the filing of this petition”.
“Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February 2023, when he learned that the guardianship he had consented to in the belief that it would make him a member of the Tuohy family, did not allow him actually have no family relationship with the Tuohys,” according to the legal petition.
Oher, who has never been a fan of the film about his life, also asks in his motion that the Tuohys be sanctioned and ordered to pay compensatory and punitive damages determined by the court.
Steve Farese, the Tuohys’ attorney, told The Associated Press they would file a response to the allegations in court, but declined to comment further. He was one of three lawyers subpoenaed to appear in court.
Leigh Anne Tuohy did not immediately respond to an email sent through her personal website. Her husband told the Daily Memphian that the conservatorship was done to satisfy the NCAA because Oher considered Mississippi, Tuohy’s alma mater, for his college education.
Sean Tuohy said he and his wife would end the conservatorship if that’s what Oher wants.
“We are devastated,” Sean Tuohy said. It is heartbreaking to think that we could be making money off the back of one of our children. But we will love Michael at 37 as we loved him at 16.”
The film was nominated for an Oscar and Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Oher accuses the Tuohys of never taking legal steps to obtain custody of him from the Tennessee Department of Social Services until he turned 18. The application for guardianship was filed a few months after Oher turned 18, in May 2004.
He moved in with the Tuohy family just before his senior year of high school and claims he was told to use “mom” and “dad”. In the petition, Oher states that he was encouraged to call the attorney who filed the “Aunt Debbie” Branan curatorship.
Oher also claims the Tuohys had him sign paperwork almost immediately after he moved in as part of the adoption process. Oher claims he was “falsely told” it would be a guardianship because he was already 18, but the intent was adoption.
“At no time did the Tuohys inform Michael that they would have ultimate control of all of his contracts, and therefore Michael failed to understand that if conservatorship was granted, he was giving up his right to sign contracts for himself,” according to the petition.
A book based on Oher’s life was published in September 2006. The author, Michael Lewis, is described in the petition as a childhood friend of Sean Tuohy. The petition claims that Oher’s guardians have entered into contract negotiations for the film rights.
The petition claims an agreement has been reached to pay the Tuohys, along with children Sean Jr. and Collins, $225,000 plus 2.5% of defined future net proceeds, subject to Oher’s signature. A contract titled “Life Story Rights Agreement” was “purportedly signed by Michael Oher” and dated April 20, 2007, according to the petition.
The petition states that Oher believes the signature is similar to his own, but that he “never signed this document voluntarily or knowingly and no one ever presented this contract to him explaining that he was signing such a document”.
In the petition, Oher asks for a full accounting of his assets and how they were used, given that his life story produced millions of dollars and he received nothing for the royalties. something that wouldn’t have existed without it.
Oher was the 23rd overall pick in 2009, and he spent his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He played a total of eight seasons in the NFL, also for the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers.
He started 110 games and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens. He also finished second in voting to Minnesota’s Percy Harvin for the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year after starting all 16 games of his first season at right tackle.
Oher, who turned 37 in May, last played in 2016. He was released in 2017 by Carolina.
