The powerful Murdaugh family is embroiled in several SC lawsuits. Here’s a breakdown
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2019 Boat Crash Coverage
The crash of a Murdaugh family boat in 2019 killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach and started a chain of events that would remain in the news two years later. Here are the stories from that crash.
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As the nation continues to be captivated by twists and turns unfolding in South Carolina surrounding the Murdaugh family, multiple lawsuits are slowly playing out in court.
Alex Murdaugh, the prominent lawyer who called 911 after his younger son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, were killed on their Colleton County estate and who recently was charged in his own shooting, is named as a defendant in four lawsuits.
Most of the suits stem from the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Paul had been criminally charged in the investigation surrounding the crash.
One lawsuit is more than two years old, likely heading toward a jury trial, and another was dismissed within days of a new one being filed.
There’s a lot to keep up with, so here’s a breakdown:
Renee Beach v. Parkers 55, Alex Murdaugh, Buster Murdaugh
This wrongful death lawsuit filed by Beach’s mother, Renee Beach, is likely the civil suit stemming from the crash that gained the most public attention early on.
It was filed in Hampton County in March 2019 after being filed in Beaufort County for a brief period of time. That hasn’t stopped people on both sides of the case — including boat passengers, nurses who were working in the hospital emergency room the morning of the crash and others — from debating whether the jury trial should be heard in Hampton or Beaufort.
A lot of intimate details from the crash and the events that preceded it were revealed or confirmed in the suit’s many filings, such as depositions from crash survivors and allegations that Paul used his brother Buster’s ID to buy alcohol.
The suit has evolved over time. Originally, seven defendants were named, including former 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III, Alex Murdaugh, Buster, Beaufort bar Luther’s Rare and Well Done, local convenience store Parkers 55 and a married couple who hosted an oyster roast where the passengers allegedly drank alcohol.
In June 2019, Randolph, Luther’s and the couple were dropped from the suit. Paul, although criminally charged in the boat crash, was never sued.
The case appeared to be heading toward a jury trial before Paul and Maggie’s June deaths.
Another action in the wrongful death suit
In early Sept. 2021, another legal action was filed by Beach in Hampton County court against Parkers 55, Alex Murdaugh and Buste.
The Lis Pendens filing provides notice of a pending court action that affects title to, or possession of, real property.
The recent filing states the ongoing wrongful death suit from March 2019 could result in a lien on the Murdaugh family’s large Colleton County estate, which also includes some property in Hampton County, and a separate Edisto property.
Connor Cook v. Parkers 55, Tajeeha Cohen, Alex Murdaugh, Buster Murdaugh
A passenger in the 2019 crash filed a personal injury suit on Sept. 21, 2021, against the same defendants facing a wrongful death suit by the Beach family and the gas station clerk alleged to have sold Paul alcohol in the hours before the crash.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff Connor Cook — who, according to court documents, sustained multiple jaw fractures in the crash — alleges that Murdaugh and “others were orchestrating a campaign” to blame him for the crash instead of Paul, who was ultimately indicted.
The lawsuit claims Alex Murdaugh started a “whisper campaign” in the community, attempted to misdirect police, and may have obstructed the criminal investigation stemming from the crash so Cook would be held responsible.
The suit also recalls the hours leading up to and following the crash, as well as how Murdaugh attempted to “control the narrative” of what happened and told Cook not to speak with law enforcement officers. It also said Murdaugh was negligent in recommending Cook hire Beaufort attorney Cory Fleming, who was Murdaugh’s college roommate, best friend and Paul’s godfather.
Months prior to this lawsuit, Cook had filed a civil petition in Richland County court saying he believed some law enforcement officers may know about intentions to hamper the crash investigation and shift blame away from Paul. This action foreshadowed the lawsuit would be coming.
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance v. Alex Murdaugh, Buster Murdaugh, Renee Beach
In September 2019, Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance sued the Murdaugh family in federal court, asking it to relieve the company of financial responsibilities for any claims by Murdaugh and his son, Buster. This suit stemmed from Beach’s wrongful death suit against the family, and she is also named as a defendant.
The Murdaugh family requested that two commercial insurance policies cover them in the wrongful death suit, but the insurance company argued it had no duty to cover the family in that case. The suit argued the family was not insured as individuals, that the policies were for injuries from “private hunting operations” and that the insurance documents state the policies in place did not apply to bodily injury arising out of the ownership or use of a watercraft, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2021 when a judge ruled in favor of the insurance company.
Missing money in Gloria Satterfield’s death
In addition to legal action stemming from the fatal boat crash, Murdaugh is also facing a lawsuit relating to the death of the Murdaughs’ housekeeper and nanny, Gloria Satterfield.
The suit, filed in Hampton County, alleges Murdaugh and two others were part of an arrangement that resulted in more than half a million dollars in insurance proceeds being wrongfully withheld from Satterfield’s sons after she died following a trip and fall incident in the Murdaugh’s Hampton home in February 2018.
Brian Harriot and Tony Satterfield, who filed the lawsuit, said they haven’t seen “one dime” of the money the insurance company paid out in their mother’s death.
As much as $3 million in additional undisclosed insurance settlements may have been diverted, according to The State.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The powerful Murdaugh family is embroiled in several SC lawsuits. Here’s a breakdown."
