Judge Orders Michael Oher’s Conservatorship With The Tuohy Family To End: ‘I Cannot Believe It Got Done’

Michael Oher had a win in court when a Tennessee judge ruled in his favor, ending the years-long conservatorship agreement between him and Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.

On Sept. 29, the legal appointment came to an end after Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes determined it was unfair and that the Tuoys’ filing should’ve never been approved in 2004 because Oher was 18 years old at the time, which not only made him an adult legally but he also didn’t have a disability.

According to the Associated Press, Gomes said she’d never witnessed a case like this in her 43-year career: “I cannot believe it got done.”

As Blavity reported, Oher learned while looking further into his adoption case that he was never actually adopted by the Tuohys, prompting him to file a lawsuit in August. The 37-year-old’s lawsuit claimed the Tuohys bamboozled him because they presented the conservatorship as adoption papers. Under that impression, he happily signed the documents to make the relationship more permanent with a family he grew to love. However, he didn’t realize he gave the Mississippi couple the right to handle his financial and personal affairs.

“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the petition stated, according to ESPN. “Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.”

In response to the lawsuit, the Tuoys held a press conference to share they would release him from his conservatorship without a fight. They also denied the claims about using Oher for financial gain and hiding money from him. Their lawyer, Steve Farese, said the pair and their family had no reason to take any money that was intended for the Ole Miss alum.

“They’ve never needed his money,” Farese said. “Mr. Tuohy sold his company for $220 million.”

Although Gomes’ ruling marks good news for Oher, it is only a partial win because the former NFL player also requested for the couple to stop using his name for their “image and likeness,” as well as to offer up their accounting records and disclose any profits stemming from the use of his name, including the Oscar-winning The Blind Side film based on his story, reported the Associated Press.

Gomes didn’t dismiss the case to further look into Oher’s additional claims, so the case is still ongoing at this time.