Satterfield heirs’ lawyers say Alex Murdaugh owes more money in missing millions case
Lawyers for the estate of Alex Murdaugh’s deceased housekeeper say Murdaugh owes the heirs millions more — including lost investment opportunities and taxes — because their clients’ wrongful death settlement was stolen, new court documents allege.
Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, attorneys for Gloria Satterfield’s heirs, filed papers Tuesday countering Murdaugh’s claim that he owes nothing. The detained Hampton lawyer, through his attorneys, said the Satterfield estate has already been more than compensated for the $4.3 million the heirs said was lost.
In September, the lawyers sued Murdaugh and others, accusing them of siphoning all insurance proceeds from a death settlement meant for Satterfield’s sons.
Last week, Murdaugh’s lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, asked that the suit be dismissed because Satterfield’s sons had received more than $6 million from other parties. “South Carolina law prohibits plaintiffs from obtaining a double recovery for the same injury,” they said.
Murdaugh’s attorneys also suggested the judge could suspend the lawsuit until the criminal case against their client is finished.
Bland and Richter argued Tuesday that $4.3 million is not the full amount that would be owed to the heirs should they win their case — it would be higher than that.
“The $4,305,000.00 of losses does not represent the ceiling of Plaintiffs’ damages — it is the floor,” the response said. “Murdaugh cannot argue that because others paid for the money he stole, he is entitled to a get out of jail free card.”
The attorneys put the number at $7.79 million in actual damages. It could be subject to increases, too, based on what a jury finds, they said.
They ask the court to deny Murdaugh’s motion to stay or dismiss the lawsuit, calling it “legally unsupportable.”
“The public is waiting and watching to see how South Carolina Courts will handle a once powerful and influential attorney,” the filing says. “Is there one system of justice for all or a two-tiered justice system that favors the wealthy and powerful?”
In October, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division charged Murdaugh with taking $3.5 million meant for the Satterfield heirs for himself, from a total of $4.3 million approved in settlement dollars. Last week, Murdaugh was indicted by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office on the Satterfield allegations and more than a dozen other counts of financial crimes in separate cases.
Murdaugh is the only defendant left in the civil case, as the other named parties have all settled or agreed to pay, more than $6 million in total, the heirs’ lawyers said.
For that reason, Murdaugh’s lawyers said last week the only damages left are “punitive damages,” which are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter them from similar actions. They said that amounts to the same thing the criminal investigations and prosecution of Murdaugh are seeking and therefore, the civil case should be dismissed.
Bland and Richter argue Murdaugh’s motion should be denied.
“[The Satterfield heirs] should have received their $4,305,000.00 on May 13, 2019, and now over two years later Murdaugh wants to keep them waiting,” the attorneys wrote. “This is not justice and it is not fair. The burden on Murdaugh is a burden of his own creation.”
