HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. A South Carolina court dismissed a convenience store’s petition for summary judgment in a wrongful death claim resulting from a boat accident involving convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh‘s kid.
Paul Murdaugh was charged with being intoxicated while operating a boat that crashed and killed Mallory Beach in 2019. Murdaugh was shot and murdered by his father, Alex Murdaugh, before his trial on the charges.
Alex Murdaugh was also convicted of the murder of his wife and Paul’s mother, Maggie.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in March 2019 against the Murdaugh family and Parkers, the convenience store where Paul purchased the alcohol.
On Monday, the court refused the store’s motion for summary judgment, stating that “the parties have provided an ample record on which the Court relies to deny the Motion for Summary Judgment.” The verdict means that the matter will go to trial in August.
According to the complaint, Mallory Beach attended a party held by Kristy and James Wood on Feb. 23, 2019, when she and other kids reportedly consumed alcohol.
Beach then drove a boat to a pub with other kids, including Paul Murdaugh, and continued drinking there. After leaving the pub, the boat collided with a bridge, ejecting Mallory and killing her.
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh filed a petition requesting the Court to review its decision to enable him to pay his legal fees using accounts.
Murdaugh’s accounts were frozen by Judge Daniel Hall, in part because the Beach family’s complaint accuses the disgraced attorney of concealing millions of dollars.
Murdaugh’s counsel claimed in their application that the Court refused their prior request “without any explanation of the basis for the ruling” and failed to evaluate and act on the precise concerns Murdaugh raised.
Murdaugh’s lawyers argue that the monies in the receivership in issue, which include more than $160,000 in untainted cash, are his and that he has a fundamental right to access the funds to pay for his legal counsel.