Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh faces further financial ruin after his claim on his $6million indemnification policy over the wrongful death lawsuit resulting from the fatal boating accident involving his deceased son was rejected by his insurance company, DailyMail.com can reveal.
According to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, insurance company Philadelphia Indemnity denied Murdaugh’s claim following the accident that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Beach was on board in 2019 when, a ‘highly drunk,’ ‘belligerent’ and ‘intoxicated’ Paul Murdaugh plowed his father’s boat into a piling on Archer’s Creek.
Philadelphia Indemnity stated that it had no obligation to insure or indemnify Murdaugh when he ‘had knowledge or should have had knowledge that his minor son illegally purchased and consumed alcohol on a regular basis by using or displaying the driver’s license of his adult son, Murdaugh Jr.’
Although the ongoing Beach lawsuit does not stipulate an amount, Murdaugh could be on the hook for millions.
Earlier this week the South Carolina legal heir was accused of misappropriating over $1million from his private law firm. He promptly issued a statement in which he claimed, ‘I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret,’ and revealed he was entering rehab for oxycodone addiction.
Today the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Hampton, South Carolina announced that he has been banned from volunteering at the prosecutor’s office that his family has run for generations.
It was the latest twist in the torrid tale in which Murdaugh, 53, has been mired since the brutal slayings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22.
Alex Murdaugh, 53, (pictured with his family) was found suffering from at least one gunshot wound on a rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina, on Saturday. DailyMail.com can reveal that Murdaugh’s insurance company has refused to pay out on indemnification policies totaling $6 million relating to a wrongful death lawsuit
Mallory Beach was one of six teenagers on board Murdaugh’s boat in 2019 when, a ‘highly drunk’ Paul Murdaugh – Murdaugh’s son – plowed his father’s boat into a piling on Archer’s Creek resulting in her death
This is Alex Murdaugh’s speed boat, seen badly damaged from the 2019 crash that killed Mallory Beach
Coolers full of beers were seen on the boat. Philadelphia Indemnity stated that it had no obligation to insure or indemnify Murdaugh when he ‘had knowledge or should have had knowledge that his minor son illegally purchased and consumed alcohol on a regular basis by using or displaying the driver’s license of his adult son, Murdaugh Jr.’
Mother and son were shot dead on the family’s hunting estate of Moselle Monday, June 7. Paul was shot with a shotgun understood to belong to the family and struck in the head and torso. Maggie was killed with a semi-automatic assault rifle.
Alex’s son Paul was awaiting trial on three felony counts at the time of his own death – two counts of boating under the influence and one of causing death and bodily injury
According to Murdaugh’s recent statement the murders ‘exacerbated’ his addiction.
Now DailyMail.com can reveal that, to add to Murdaugh’s woes, he is fighting the Philadelphia Indemnity in federal court following the company’s move to deny him insurance payouts on two policies totaling $6million following the 2019 fatal boat crash.
Philadelphia Indemnity had sought the court’s judgment in favor of their denial of his claim following the accident that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory.
Paul was awaiting trial on three felony counts at the time of his own death – two counts of boating under the influence and one of causing death and bodily injury. He had been indicted and released on a $50,000 bond.
Beach’s mother, Renee, brought a wrongful death suit against a host of defendants including Alex Murdaugh, the boat’s owner and Paul’s older brother, Richard ‘Buster’ Murdaugh whose ID Paul used to illegally purchase the alcohol consumed that night.
According to the Beach complaint quoted in the insurer’s call for a judgement in its favor, ‘It was foreseeable that Murdaugh’s son would purchase alcohol for consumption by other minors and would then become intoxicated.’
Beach’s mother, Renee (pictured with Mallory) brought a wrongful death suit against a host of defendants including Alex Murdaugh, the boat-owner and Paul’s older brother
According to the Beach complaint quoted in the insurer’s call for a judgement in its favor, ‘It was foreseeable that Murdaugh’s son would purchase alcohol for consumption by other minors and would then become intoxicated’
The insurance policies in question include a commercial lines of coverage and a commercial liability umbrella policy both straddling the period of time between January 6, 2019 and January 6, 2020. The boat accident took place on February 23, 2019.
The coverage extended to costs incurred due to bodily injury – including death – and property damage but the company reserved the right to investigate the circumstances of both and as a commercial policy only appears to cover employees or volunteer workers.
The policies also stipulated that the ‘activities designated…are ‘private hunting operations.’
For these reasons and a myriad others Philadelphia took the view that, ‘it has no defense or indemnification obligations to Murdaugh.’
The wording of the policy specifies that Murdaugh is only insured ‘with respect to conduct of a business of which the name insured is the sole owner.’
According to Philadelphia, ‘There are no allegations in the Amended Complaint in the Beach lawsuit that any conduct on the part of Murdaugh, the name insured, arises out of the conduct of a business of which Murdaugh is the sole owner. Therefore, he is not an insured under the Policies with regard to the claims alleged against him in the Beach lawsuit.’
The insurers go as far as to infer ‘the intent to harm,’ in Murdaugh’s behavior stating that he had knowledge that his younger son was using his older son’s driving license to purchase alcohol – an activity they describe as ‘inherently dangerous.’
According to court documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, insurance company Philadelphia Indemnity denied Murdaugh’s claim following the accident that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach
It was Murdaugh who found the bodies of his wife and younger son by the dog kennels on his property and placed a call to 911 at 10.07pm on June 7. Maggie and Paul are believed to have been killed between 9pm and 9.30pm.With no suspects named, nor leads divulged by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) the case had fallen from public attention.
But it was propelled back into national headlines Saturday when, in a bizarre development, Murdaugh called 911 and told police he had been shot in the head when he stopped to change a tire on the roadside. He was barely seven miles from home and told officers he was driving to Charleston.
Word of Murdaugh’s alleged embezzlement tumbled out soon after, as it was revealed that he had been forced to resign the day before the roadside incident.
Law firm Peters Murdaugh Parker Elztroth Detrick (PMPED) has hired forensic accountants to investigate the matter.
READ RELATED: Dad's 'sun spot' is a melanoma: doctors remove MASSIVE chunk of skin
DailyMail.com has also learned that attorneys for the Beach family were seeking to compel Murdaugh to share financial records at the time of his son and wife’s deaths.
Crime scene tape is visible on the stretch of Old Salkehatchie Road where Alex Murdaugh reported having been the victim of a drive by shooting Saturday
Moselle Hunting Lodge where Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were gunned down June 7. Their bodies were discovered by Murdaugh by the dog kennels
SLED have shared little information on either of the ongoing investigations.
They have revealed that Maggie’s cell phone was found discarded by the side of a rural road near the family home, that evidence was recovered from a nearby area of swamp and that a Chevrolet Suburban registered to the family law firm was removed from the property.
They have been similarly tight-lipped on the latest shooting incident. According to Jim Griffin, an attorney for Murdaugh, his client told him that a truck passed him on the road, circled back and then opened fire.
The resultant head-wound has been described as ‘superficial’ and though he was airlifted to hospital in Savannah, Georgia following the incident, Murdaugh was released Sunday afternoon.
Information released by SLED does not include any description of this second vehicle or the alleged shooter.
According to SLED personnel were dispatched at 2.41pm with low country regional agents arriving on scene at 3.40pm and SLED crime scene agents arriving at 4.30pm.
Crime scene agents worked through the night into Sunday morning, ‘collecting evidence, processing the crime scene, interviewing potential witnesses, and following up on potential leads.’
TIMELINE OF MURDAUGH FAMILY MURDERS, DEATHS, LAWSUITS AND ARRESTS
Cops investigating the double murder have also reopened the case into a 2015 hit-and-run of teen Stephen Smith
2015: Teenager Stephen Smith dies
Smith was found on the side of the road. Police officially rule his death a hit-and-run but he had suffered blunt force trauma to the head
His mother has since shared her belief that she thinks he was killed in a hate-crime because he was gay
Case notes obtained by DailyMail.com revealed Paul’s older brother Buster was named multiple times in the investigation.
Police wanted to know more about his relationship with Stephen
Stephen’s mother said he had been having a ‘fling’
2018: Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield dies
Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Sattlerfield dies
Gloria died after ‘falling’ down the stairs in the family house
The family gave her family $500.000 in a wrongful death settlement but it’s unclear why her death was ruled to be their fault.
Alex Murdaugh was listed as the defendant in the lawsuit.
Satterfield was only 57 when she died. She left behind a husband and children.
2019: Mallory Beach dies being thrown from boat driven by Paul Murdaugh
Mallory Beach, 19, died in February 2019
Paul was charged afterwards because he’d been drinking and was behaving ‘belligerently’ that night.
He had been released on bond.
Other kids were on the boat but were unharmed.
One testified that they were scared to speak about the Murdaugh family because they knew how to ‘cover things up’.
That boy named Stephen Smith and the housekeeper, and claimed Paul pushed her
June 7 2021: Paul and Maggie are murdered
The mom and son were found shot dead at the family home in Hampton, South Carolina.
Alex’s son Paul, 22, (left) and wife Maggie, 52, (right) were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds on June 7 at the family hunting lodge
Alex called 911 shortly after 10pm claiming he’d found them.
They had only been dead for an hour at most
Alex’s father Randolph Murdaugh III died ‘peacefully’ at home three days after Maggie and Paul were found shot dead
June 10 2021: Alex’s 81-year-old father Randolph Murdaugh III dies ‘naturally’ and ‘peacefully’ at home
September 3: Alex resigns from his lawfirm amid claims he misused funds
The firm has hired a forensic investigator to go through the accounts
September 4: Alex calls 911 claiming he’s been shot in the head in a drive-by.
He only had ‘surface’ wounds and was also able to call his brother
September 6: Alex releases a statement confirming his resignation from the firm and announcing he has entered rehab
Says ‘I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated these murders.’
<!—->
Advertisement
Source:
