'The Blind Side' lawsuit: Tuohy family intends to end conservatorship for Michael Oher

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy intend to end their conservatorship for Michael Oher, lawyers for the couple said during a news conference Wednesday. 

Oher filed a petition with Shelby County (Tennessee) probate court Monday to end the conservatorship, which he claims the Tuohys deceived him into signing, saying they were legally adopting him.  

Court records show Oher signed the conservatorship papers in August 2004, three months after his 18th birthday. Legal experts have said there is no basis for the conservatorship to exist. Sean Tuohy and the couple’s attorneys have said this week that the conservatorship was a means of protection for Oher to attend Ole Miss, the couple’s alma mater, and that the maneuver would make him part of the family. 

All along, Oher said, he thought he’d been legally adopted. Oher is also seeking back pay for any money the Tuohys may have earned through the conservatorship, mainly the life rights agreement and contract for the 2009 blockbuster movie "The Blind Side," which starred Sandra Bullock. 

"Michael got every dime, every dime he had coming,”  Tuohys lawyer Randall Fishman said.

Lawyer Steve Farese said the Tuohys' wealth outside of Oher, who made more than $30 million during his eight-year NFL career, was more than enough. 

"They don’t need his money," Farese said. "They’ve never needed his money. Mr. Tuohy sold his company for $220 million."

Oher's former coach calls rift with Tuoys 'sad'

Hugh Freeze, who coached Oher both on the high school and collegiate level as the head football coach of Briarcrest Christian School and as an assistant coach at the University of Mississippi, commented on the lawsuit.

"I love Michael Oher. And I love the Tuoys. I think it's sad," Freeze said, according to the Opelika-Auburn News. "Whatever happens will happen... I love both sides of it."

Freeze said he didn't know any details about the rift – "I certainly don't claim to know all the ins and outs of adoption and conservatory" – but he did speak on what he saw while Oher attended Briarcrest.

"I know what I witnessed and I witnessed a family that totally took in a young man," Freeze added.