The much-delayed trial in the wrongful death case of Mallory Beach against disgraced former lawyer Alex Murdaugh and convenience store magnate Gregory Parker can finally proceed but no date has been set.
The S.C. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled on Dec. 22 that Murdaugh and Parker will be co-defendants in the case. Parker’s lawyers had asked for their cases to be tried separately.
The trial likely won’t begin until summer 2023 at the earliest, said the Beach’s family attorney Mark Tinsley.
Tinsley represents Renee Beach, who filed the lawsuit against Parker and Murdaugh. She is the mother of Beach, the 19-year-old woman killed in a nighttime boat crash in February 2019 in waters off Beaufort.
The trial is expected to determine who was at fault for Beach’s death and how much money, if any, should be paid to the Beach family.
Earlier this year, after lawyers for Parker filed a motion with Judge Daniel Hall for Parker to be tried separately from Murdaugh, Hall agreed. The judge scheduled a trial for Oct. 10, with Parker as the only defendant.
In their motion to be tried separately, Parker’s lawyers had contended there was a “blitz” of adverse publicity surrounding Murdaugh that would unfairly taint Parker. Murdaugh faces a host of criminal financial theft charges, as well as two murder charges in the 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
But Tinsley objected to the judge’s decision, and in late September, Hall reversed himself. Hall then set a Jan. 9 date in Hampton County for the trial, with both Murdaugh and Parker as defendants.
In late October, Parker’s lawyers appealed to the Court of Appeals, asking that court to rule Parker and Murdaugh should be tried separately. In a brief filed with the Court of Appeals, Tinsley objected, saying it is well-settled law that when someone is joined with others as defendants in a civil case, they can’t choose to have the case divided into separate lawsuits.
The court ruled Dec. 22 that the two would be tried together.
Meanwhile, with Murdaugh scheduled to go on trial Jan. 23 for the murders of his wife and son in Colleton County, Judge Hall’s proposed Jan. 9 date for a trial in the Beach case had became unworkable.
After the Court of Appeals ruling, Pankaj “P. K.” Shere, Parker’s lead attorney, said, “We are obviously disappointed in the decision, but ultimately, we look forward to presenting our case at trial and exonerating Tajeeha Cohen (the convenience store clerk who sold the alcohol) and Parker’s.”
Murdaugh is a defendant in the case because he allegedly often allowed his youngest son, Paul, use an ID that was not his own to buy alcohol, knowing his son would become reckless when driving a boat or vehicle, according to the Beach lawsuit.
Parker is a defendant because his store sold beer to Paul, who was 19 at the time. Paul bought the alcohol for himself and his friends, all underage, before a boat he was allegedly driving crashed into a bridge piling in Archer’s Creek, the Beach lawsuit alleges.
A key element in Parker’s defense is the claim that Cohen sold Paul beer and hard seltzer the night of the boat crash and properly checked Paul’s identification.
The Beach lawsuit claims, however, that Parker’s didn’t give its clerks adequate training in checking identification cards and Cohen, who is not a defendant in the case, should have noticed that Paul was using the driver’s license of his older brother, Buster.
Buster is taller than Paul and doesn’t look exactly like Paul, the lawsuit contends.
Other members of the Murdaugh family are named in the suit, including Paul and Maggie’s estate and Buster. Paul’s estate is named because he was the alleged reckless driver of the boat, and Maggie’s estate is named because she allegedly gave him a credit card to buy alcohol the night of the crash. Buster is named because he allegedly gave Paul his driver’s license so Paul could buy alcohol, the lawsuit says.
Tinsley said Tuesday the Beach trial won’t begin until after Murdaugh stands trial in Colleton County for the murders of his wife and son. That trial is slated to begin Jan. 23 and run at least three weeks.
Another factor in the trial delay, Tinsley added, is that House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, is a member of Parker’s legal team and has requested the trial start date be deferred until summer, when the state Legislature is out of session.
State judges routinely put legal proceedings on hold when a lawyer for one party or another is a member of the General Assembly and the Legislature is in session.
A spokeswoman for Parker’s legal team agreed with Tinsley’s assessment that the trial likely wouldn’t begin until summer 2023.
Should a verdict and damages be rendered against multiple defendants, but only one can pay damages, a state legal doctrine known as joint and several liability comes into play, meaning the defendant with assets would be liable for the total amount of damages.
That means Parker, a millionaire, faces far more exposure in the Beach case than Murdaugh, whose few assets are being sought by multiple creditors.
