Store that sold Alex Murdaugh’s son beer settles for $15 million
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On Feb. 23, 2019, 19-year-old Paul Murdaugh bought beer from Parker’s Kitchen, a restaurant and gas station chain, in Ridgeland, S.C., using his older brother’s ID. The act put into motion a true-crime tale that fascinated America. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Murdaugh allegedly became intoxicated and crashed a boat, killing passenger Mallory Beach, 19. He was indicted on three felonies of boating under the influence, including one of causing death, and her family sued his family.
Then, Murdaugh and his mother were killed by his father, Alex Murdaugh. It was an attempt to keep hidden a tangled scandal of fraud and opioid addiction within the wealthy and influential South Carolina family, prosecutors would later say.
On Monday, Parker’s Kitchen agreed to pay $15 million in a settlement to the family of Mallory Beach for selling the beer, bringing the original suit to an end.
Mark Tinsley, the Beach family lawyer, said in a statement that “the people who enable underage drinking must be stopped.”
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“The Beach family believes this settlement will serve as a warning to all the Parker’s [Kitchens] of the world, who might make an illegal sale of alcohol to a minor, that they will be held to account,” he said.
“These settlements won’t bring Mallory back, but we hope they do save someone else’s son or daughter.”
Beach’s family filed suit in 2019, naming Parker’s Kitchen, the Murdaugh family and other parties as responsible for Mallory’s wrongful death.
In Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial, prosecutors said his motive for killing his family members at their Islandton estate in June 2021 was to “shift the focus away from himself and buy himself some time to try and prevent his financial crimes from being uncovered, which — if revealed — would result in personal, legal, and financial ruin for Murdaugh.”
Alex Murdaugh had stolen millions from clients of his law firm over more than a decade. He broadly admitted to the theft during his murder trial and pointed to his heavy use of oxycodone.
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The son of three generations of county prosecutors, he worked as a personal injury lawyer, as well as for the prosecutor’s office.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in March. His trial, which garnered nationwide attention, was covered in multiple docuseries and carried live on TV.
In a statement, Parker’s Kitchen attorney P.K. Shere said on Monday that the chain chose to settle because it did not think a fair trial would be possible when it was tethered to a high-profile killer.
It maintained the alcohol sale was “legal and valid” and had been found so by South Carolina law enforcement.
But under a South Carolina law, when multiple parties are sued, if liability is found then damages must be paid in full by whomever is capable, regardless of each party’s degree of responsibility, it said.
“If Parker’s was found even 1% at fault, it would have paid for the entirety of any verdict rendered against the Murdaugh family,” it said.
“The unfairness of that caused Parker’s insurance carriers to resolve these suits to avoid paying the likely award intended to punish Alex Murdaugh.”
Timothy Bella contributed to this report.
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Source: The Washington Post
