Michael Oher‘s lawyers filed three subpoenas in relation to his conservatorship case in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court.
The subpoenas, filed on Tuesday, August 29, request “all documents and communications” from Alcon Entertainment (the production company behind the 2009 film The Blind Side) and Creative Artists Agency (the talent agency working with the Tuohy family when the deal for The Blind Side was made) that mention the football star, E! News reports. He is seeking information about contracts and payments related to the film as well as books written by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.
A subpoena was also sent to Memphis Shelby County Schools, the school system he attended, to request any documents or communications regarding Oher.
Earlier this month, Oher alleged that the Tuohys never legally adopted him — as they publicly claimed they did — and instead convinced him to sign a document legally making them his conservators. Oher alleged that he only learned about the conservatorship earlier this year. With his lawsuit, the former NFL player is seeking to terminate the guardianship and earn a share of the Tuohy family’s film royalties.
Oher alleged in the initial legal documents, filed on August 14, that he never earned any profits from The Blind Side (which won Oscars and earned over $309 million at the worldwide box office) while the Tuohys — including the couple’s daughter Collins, 36, and son Sean “SJ” Jr., 30 — have earned millions from it over the years. Oher is asking that Sean and Leigh Anne provide a detailed list of accounting corresponding to the earnings they’ve made on his behalf — including the film.
The movie, inspired by his life, followed his experience going from the foster care system to the NFL after he was taken in by the Tuohy family.
Sean and Leigh Anne have denied Oher’s allegations and insisted that any money from the film was divided equally among Oher and the family. Their lawyer, Marty Singer, released a statement alleging that Oher tried to blackmail the family.
“They have consistently treated [Michael] like a son and one of their three children,” their attorney Marty Singer told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement earlier this month. “His response was to threaten them, including saying that he would plant a negative story about them in the press unless they paid him $15 million.”
Meanwhile, Sean, 63, for his part, claimed to the Daily Memphian that Oher would not have been permitted to attend and play football at the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss, without the conservatorship. The Tuohys were boosters of the program and the NCAA would not have allowed him to be immediately eligible if he were their adopted son.
Another one of the Tuohy’s lawyers, Steven Farese, also revealed in an August 16 press conference that Oher has been “estranged” from the family for the last 10 years.
