Alex Murdaugh Ordered To Deal With Civil Lawsuit Accusing Him Of Ripping $4 Million Off His Late Housekeeper Gloria's Estate After Murder Trial Wraps Up
Feb. 27 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Alex Murdaugh demanded a civil lawsuit accusing him of conspiring to steal millions from the family of his late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield be put on hold — to allow him to focus on defending himself against charges he murdered his wife and son, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Murdaugh and his legal team pleaded with a South Carolina judge to stay the case brought by Nautilus Insurance Company.
Back in April 2022, Nautilus sued Murdaugh, his lawyer Cory Fleming and the South Carolina law firm Moss & Kuhn.
The insurance company said Murdaugh had a $5 million umbrella insurance policy. On February 2, 2018, Murdaugh’s longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield fell at the property. She died weeks later.
Murdaugh made a claim for coverage under the Policy with regard to claims against him “purportedly on behalf of the estate of Ms. Satterfield.”
The insurance company said they paid in excess of $75k to resolve the claims. In the suit, they said they later learned that Murdaugh went to Satterfield’s family after her death and instructed them to sue him.
The company said Murdaugh had his close friend Fleming represent the Satterfield family. The insurance company said unbeknownst to it, “Murdaugh was not a bona fide insured seeking coverage, but rather was coordinating the handling of the claim with Fleming—including sending correspondence related to the case on Murdaugh’s firm’s letterhead and preparing and delivering disbursement sheets—such that Fleming and Murdaugh were effectively co-counsel.”
Nautilus Insurance said Murdaugh even threatened to file a lawsuit against it if it refused to pay up. The suit accuses Murdaugh of being “abusive” toward the Nautilus adjuster.
Further, they said Murdaugh threatened that if the case went to trial he would admit liability and the judgment would be “substantial.”
The insurance company said it paid out settlement money to Fleming. However, the company said it learned Satterfield’s family never received a dime.
“That no effort was made by Westendorf, Palmetto, Fleming, or MKF to ensure that the funds intended for the Satterfield family were received by the Satterfield family, violating their obligations regarding escrow funds and their disbursement,” the suit read.
Murdaugh and his associates stand accused of stealing over $4 million owed to the Satterfield family. Satterfield’s son claims Murdaugh stole one insurance payout for $3.8 million and another for $500k.
The lawsuit has yet to be resolved with all parties still duking it out in court. Weeks before Murdaugh’s murder trial began, his lawyers rushed to court demanding the case be put on pause until 30 days after a verdict was reached in the criminal case.
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Prosecutors accused Murdaugh of murdering his wife Maggie and their son Paul at one of the family’s properties. He denied playing any part in their deaths.
In his motion, as part of the insurance case, Murdaugh’s attorney said that if the case was not put on pause his client would have to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
His attorney argued the multi-billion-dollar insurance company that seeks recovery of a single claim paid over three-and-a-half years ago could wait. He said the company claimed to become aware of the situation with the insurance claims in July 2021.
“Nautilus therefore cannot plausibly claim a need to expedite these proceedings by four months that outweighs Mr. Murdaugh’s need to spend the next three months defending the murder charges against him,” his motion read.
Murdaugh said he could not meaningfully participate in the case while defending himself against murder charges.
The judge signed off on the request but ordered Murdaugh to be back in court 30 days after his criminal case wraps up.
In the lawsuit, the insurance company raised questions about Satterfield’s death and the facts that Murdaugh and his family provided officials.
It pointed out, “immediately following Gloria Satterfield’s fall on February 2, 2018, Murdaugh rushed to the scene, arriving before EMS. On March 29, 2018, Murdaugh stated that Ms. Satterfield briefly regained consciousness during which time she stated that Murdaugh’s dogs had caused her to fall. This statement was heard by no one else and is contradicted by Ms. Satterfield’s later statement to hospital staff that she had no idea what made her fall.”
The case is ongoing.