A judge in Shelby County, Tennessee, has officially terminated the conservatorship agreement between Michael Oher and the Tuohy family. This decision was reached earlier this week in probate court by Judge Kathleen Gomes. Additionally, Judge Gomes declined to dismiss the case brought by Oher against the family. The Tuohy family’s adoption of Oher was famously depicted in the Oscar-winning film, “The Blind Side.” Judge Gomes expressed her astonishment at the completion of the conservatorship, stating, “I cannot believe it got done.” She also noted that in her 43-year legal career, she had never encountered such an agreement.
Typically, conservatorships are established in cases involving disability or similar circumstances.
The Tuohy family observed the hearing remotely but refrained from making any comments. They have disputed Oher’s allegations that they financially exploited him. Oher contends that the Tuohys concealed the full extent of their earnings derived from the use of his name, image, and likeness. The Tuohys oversee two separate nonprofit organizations that utilize Oher’s name.
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Oher discovered the truth about the conservatorship agreement earlier this year, although the distressing details had been known publicly for some time. In his 2011 memoir, “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness to ‘The Blind Side,’ and Beyond,” Oher described the nature of his relationship with the Tuohys.
“Sean and Leigh Anne would be named as my ‘legal conservators. They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as ‘adoptive parents,’ but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account. Honestly, I didn’t care what it was called. I was just happy that no one could argue that we weren’t legally what we already knew was real: We were a family,” the passage read. However, when Oher revisited the agreement in 2023, he realized that the arrangement orchestrated by the Tuohys did not establish a familial relationship with the family.
