'The Blind Side' family accuse Michael Oher of threatening them with 'negative' press in a $15 million 'shakedown' before Oher filed court documents that claim they never adopted him

• "The Blind Side" family accused Michael Oher of attempting a "shakedown" before a court filing on Monday.
• The family's attorney said Oher threatened the Tuohys with "negative" press if they didn't give him $15 million.

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the family featured in the 2009 film "The Blind Side," are accusing Michael Oher of attempting a $15 million "shakedown" before he filed court documents alleging that they never adopted him.

Oher, the former NFL player and inspiration behind the Sandra Bullock-starring movie, said in a filing on Monday obtained by Insider that the Tuohy family tricked him into signing documents that entered him into a conservatorship in 2004.

The filing claims that the Tuohys used the conservatorship to exploit Oher and make millions of dollars in royalties from his life story.

In a statement issued to TMZ, Martin Singer, the Tuohys' attorney, said that the family "opened their home to Mr. Oher, offered him structure, support, and most of all, unconditional love."

"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," Singer's statement said.

The statement alleges that Oher has "attempted to run this play several times before" but was "stopped" by his lawyers after they "saw the evidence and learned the truth."

"Sadly, Mr. Oher has finally found a willing enabler" to file "this ludicrous lawsuit as a cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour," Singer's statement continued.

"Anyone with a modicum of common sense can see that the outlandish claims made by Michael Oher about the Tuohy family are hurtful and absurd," the statement added.

Responding to Singer's statement, representatives for Oher told People: "We try cases in the courtroom based on the facts. We have confidence in our judicial system and in our client Michael Oher. We believe that justice will be served in the courtroom, and we hope to get there quickly."

In a court filing made in Shelby County, Tennessee, on Monday, Oher claimed that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy tricked him into signing documents that entered him into a conservatorship shortly after his 18th birthday.

The filing states that Oher believed the papers he signed were adoption papers and that only in February of this year did he find out that he was not adopted by the couple.

The conservatorship allowed the Tuohys to have "total control" over Oher's ability to "negotiate for or enter any contract," including the deal for "The Blind Side" that paid them and their children — Collins Tuohy and Sean Tuohy Jr. — millions of dollars in royalties, the documents said.

The filing states that the arrangement also gave the Tuohys legal control over Oher's education and medical decisions, despite him having no known physical, mental, or emotional disabilities that would necessitate such an agreement.

Oher is seeking an end to conservatorship, plus compensation and interest based on the money the Tuohys received due to the success of "The Blind Side."

In an interview with The Daily Memphian on Monday, Sean Tuohy, the family patriarch, said he would be open to the conservatorship ending.

Tuohy also reiterated previous claims that he and his family hadn't made millions from "The Blind Side" and that they split what little money they did make with Oher.

"Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each," he said.