Murdaugh’s ex-law firm reaches settlement with dead housekeeper’s heirs, attorney says

The former law firm of suspended South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has reached a confidential settlement with the heirs of Murdaugh’s deceased housekeeper.

“Over the weekend, the Satterfields and the law firm reconciled their differences,” said Columbia attorney Eric Bland.

Bland would not reveal how much money, if any, will be paid to the Satterfield estate’s two beneficiaries, Michael “Tony” Satterfield and Brian Herriott.

Murdaugh’s former firm, PMPED of Hampton, could not be reached for comment.

The settlement arises from a now-exposed alleged scheme by Alex Murdaugh and two friends, attorney Cory Fleming and banker Chad Westendorf, to siphon $4.3 million from Satterfield’s estate to Murdaugh, Fleming and Westendorf.

PMPED was linked to the scheme because Alex Murdaugh used firm stationery and resources in his plan to loot the Satterfield’s estate, Bland said. However, there was no evidence that others in the firm participated in the scheme.

Satterfield, longtime Murdaugh family nanny and housekeeper, died of injuries received in a fatal 2018 fall at the Murdaugh home. The $4.3 million came from the money from Murdaugh’s homeowner’s and umbrella policies to cover such events.

Bland has already reached a monetary settlement for the heirs with Beaufort attorney Fleming and his law firm, Moss, Kuhn & Fleming, valued at more than $177,000.

Fleming and his law firm were named as defendants in a lawsuit Bland and his co-counsel, Ronnie Richter, filed in mid-September against Alex Murdaugh, Westendorf, and Westendorf’s bank, Palmetto State Bank of Hampton.

(This story will be updated.)