By: D. Erickson
Source: Michael DeWitt/Nick Neville
Alex Murdaugh is once again in the headlines. This time the news centers around his family’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, her death, and an insurance payout.
Judge Bentley Price has denied a motion filed by Alex Murdaugh to vacate the $4.3 million confession of judgement awarded to the Satterfield family. Ms. Satterfield was an employee of the Murdaugh family for over twenty years as a housekeeper and nanny. She died after what was described as a “trip and fall” accident at the Moselle estate, in Colleton County in 2018. Ms. Satterfield’s family never received any of the money from the insurance settlement.
Murdaugh’s admitted liability in Gloria Satterfield’s death on his property allowing for the insurance payout. Essentially, Murdaugh lied to the insurance company in order to get the payout. Alex Murdaugh is now trying to recount his version of the events that led to the initial payout. In a convoluted effort to distance himself from wrongdoing, Murdaugh has petitioned the court to vacate the confession of judgement. His reasoning is that since he lied to get the money, and the Satterfields never saw that money, a claim should never have been filed. Murdaugh even goes so far as to suggest that Nautilus look to the Satterfields to recover their losses (a judge has not ruled on adding Gloria Satterfield’s sons to this lawsuit). Murdaugh then did not give any of the insurance money to Gloria Satterfield’s family in compensation for her death. Now the insurance company (Nautilus Insurance) wishes to recoup its losses. Judge Bentley’s decision leaves Alex Murdaugh responsible for the fraud that he initially created. In relation to this part of the Murdaugh scandals, Cory Fleming, a Murdaugh accomplice, is scheduled for federal sentencing for his part in the plan to take money from the Satterfield family.
