Alex Murdaugh says he does not owe any money to the sons of a housekeeper who died following a fall at the family's estate because they've already been financially compensated for their loss.
Murdaugh's legal team made that declaration in the response to a civil lawsuit filed by the sons of Gloria Satterfield in Hampton County Court. They accuse the suspended lawyer of skimming four-point-three million dollars of the insurance settlement into his personal bank accounts.
But the three-page response from Murdaugh's attorneys says the woman's sons have already been paid more than six million dollars in settlements, and that state law prohibits plaintiffs from obtaining double recovery for the same injury.
It also asks the judge to put the lawsuit on hold until the criminal case charging Murdaugh with embezzlement has been decided. He's being held without bond on that charge.
The Satterfield family's lawyer Ronnie Richter told the Post and Courier Murdaugh's response amounts to saying that "..because somebody else paid the obligation, my man gets to keep the stolen funds." Richter added, "Think about how tone deaf and arrogant that is."