O.J. SIMPSON's appeal against a 10-year-old wrongful death lawsuit relating to the 1994 murder of his ex-wife NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON and her pal RONALD GOLDMAN has been rejected. The former American footballer-turned-actor was acquitted of the pair's murder in 1995, but was found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial in 1997. Goldman's father Fred was awarded $33.5 million (GBP16.75 million) in damages, but Simpson has paid little of what he owes the Goldman family. Fred was granted a renewal of the civil judgement in 2006 at Los Angeles Superior Court, because the ruling would have expired on 10 March (08). But Simpson objected to the renewal and protested against it at the 2nd District Court of Appeal, arguing the L.A. Superior Court could no longer rule on his actions because he has become a resident of Florida. However, the appeal was denied on Wednesday (20Feb08) and according to Goldman's lawyer, David Cook, the renewal will not expire until 2018, at which time the judgement can be extended again if the full payment has yet to be received. The total of outstanding payments currently stands at around $40 million (GBP20 million), with interest. Cook says, "A plane ticket to Miami is not a free pass for a wrongful death judgement."