Satterfield’s sons want Alex Murdaugh jailed until insurance money returned, lawsuit says
The heirs of the Murdaugh family housekeeper who died after an alleged trip-and-fall accident at Alex Murdaugh’s home in 2018 have asked a judge to jail Murdaugh, according to a Monday court filing.
Gloria Satterfield’s sons, Tony Satterfield and Brian Harriott, filed a motion for civil detention, asking for a court order “requiring the arrest and detention” of Murdaugh until he returns “the property that he has fraudulently embezzled from them,” according to the filing by their lawyer, Eric Bland.
The filing cites a state law that says under certain circumstances a person can be arrested in a civil case despite there not being criminal charges.
Monday’s legal action is part of a civil lawsuit brought by Satterfield’s two sons on Sept. 15 that alleges Murdaugh, attorney Corey Fleming of Beaufort and Hampton banker Chad Westendorf were part of a scheme in 2018 and 2019 that deprived the sons of their rightful inheritance.
Murdaugh lawyer’s Jim Griffin declined to comment Monday, saying his client had not seen the lawsuit.
However, Griffin indicated there could be a legal challenge to the law that Bland is using.
“That law was passed in the 1800s and applies unequally to women, so it is constitutionally suspect on its face,” he said.
The inheritance, according to later filings in the sons’ lawsuit, was $2.7 million. That’s according to an order — which was never filed — in a wrongful death legal claim that the sons made against Murdaugh, a longtime Hampton County attorney, and the insurance companies that covered his homeowner’s policies.
The order was for $4.3 million total in insurance proceeds, and Bland’s lawsuit said Satterfield’s sons received no money at all.
Monday’s motion asks Judge Carmen Mullen or another judge for a hearing in which all parties will testify under oath.
The motion puts more attention on one of the half-dozen investigations tied to the Murdaugh family.
The motion also alleges that Judge Mullen played a role in signing the order in 2019 that awarded all the $4.3 million in the case to other parties and left none for the two sons.
The matter of judges signing off on distributions in wrongful death cases are “routinely handled as a matter of mutual trust and respect between the bench (judges) and the members of the bar,” Monday’s filing said.
In any case, such statements about where money is going are “required (to) be made a part of the public record through the filing of a petition and the entry of an order granting the petition,” Monday’s filing said.
Mullen knew all the lawyers “enjoyed reputations (at least at that time) as ethical and professional lawyers” and “trusted the lawyers who were to appear before her and had no reason not to trust them,” the filing said.
Pertinent facts about the settlement, including that Satterfield’s sons were left out of the distribution, were kept from Mullen, the filing said.
Due to Mullen’s alleged involvement, it’s in question whether she will preside over any hearing related to the distribution matter.
Mullen, who has ties to the Murdaugh family, has already recused herself from involvement in court proceedings in the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach and the criminal charges facing the late Paul Murdaugh.
Mullen allegedly approved the secret $4.3 million settlement in 2019, according to Monday’s filing.
Bland also said last week that he is turning the case over to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division for criminal investigation.
SLED Chief Mark Keel said earlier this month his agency is investigating not only the death of Satterfield, but also the financial handling of insurance proceeds after her death.
“We are going to follow the facts, wherever they are,” Keel said.
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This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Satterfield’s sons want Alex Murdaugh jailed until insurance money returned, lawsuit says."
