Share and Follow
HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. () – The Parker’s corporation is filing two different motions in the Mallory Beach civil case, both designed, they say, to make sure they get a fair trial.
The first asks for the civil case filed by the Beach family to be moved out of Hampton County.
The second is to sever Alex Murdaugh from their case and allow Parker’s to be tried separately from the convicted murderer.
In the motion to move the trial, filed Friday, Parker’s attorneys say because of the media attention and the high-profile murder trial of Murdaugh, “The entire jury venire in Hampton County, South Carolina likely will be aware of the Murdaugh name, family, and news surrounding them.”
It continues to say the “reactionary and publicized” situation has only exploded since the court first considered whether to transfer venue for convenience and justice in October 2021.
“If anyone in this Judicial Circuit hadn’t heard of the Murdaughs before—something this Court already doubted months ago—they almost certainly have now, and those ingrained views ensure that Parker’s will not receive a fair trial here. Accordingly, the Court should transfer venue out of this circuit entirely, to somewhere that the Murdaugh name might provoke a less reactionary response.”
Murdaugh and Parker’s will both stand trial in a civil case related to the boat accident in February 2019. Beach was thrown from a boat she was riding in and drowned.
That boat, which hit a piling in Archer’s Creek, was driven by Paul Murdaugh, who was intoxicated. Murdaugh, who was underage, is caught on video using his brother Buster’s ID at the Parker’s store in Beaufort to buy alcohol illegally.
The chain says it had equipment designed to check if it was a valid ID, which it was. It adds that the passengers on board the boat were drinking as well and understood the dangers of getting on that boat.
In their argument, Parker’s used two different affidavits from current or former Hampton County residents to say how much media attention this case has been given, and how a jury pool could be prejudiced by the Murdaugh case and name being connected to Parker’s.
Parker’s attorneys add that “At its core, this trial is just as likely to be part of potentially the most reactionary and publicized proceedings in the history of the South Carolina judiciary and legal system through no fault of Parker’s.”
“To ensure that Parker’s can receive a fair trial from an impartial jury, Parker’s hereby respectfully requests this Court to transfer venue for this trial outside of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit.”
Read Related Also: ‘Try That in a Small Town’ rockets to No. 2 on charts after music video controversy
A similar request to move the trial has already been denied by Judge Daniel Hall in October of 2021.
The motion to sever their case from Alex Murdaugh’s trial uses many of the same words and language as the motion for a new venue.
Murdaugh is accused of trying to hide the fact his son was driving the boat that night. To hide the fact Paul had been drinking, his family knew he had been drinking, and to cover up the fact Paul was “grossly intoxicated” at the time of the crash.
Alex is also accused of trying to “pin” the accident on another one of the passengers, Connor Cook, going so far as to allegedly walk room to room in the hospital that night and tell each passenger not to say anything about the crash or the circumstances behind the accident.
The motion says: “With trial scheduled for August 14, 2023, Parkers stares down the barrel of potentially the most reactionary and publicized proceedings in South Carolina legal history, stuck at a defense table with the Murdaugh Defendants.”
“Plaintiff has settled with two of the Murdaugh codefendants, Maggie’s Estate and Richard Murdaugh, Jr. (“Buster”), and she has recently moved to dismiss a third, Paul’s Estate. Maggie and Buster were the only Murdaugh defendants who likely possessed assets to contribute to a judgment here. Parker’s thus faces trial tethered to a likely judgment-proof codefendant who has been convicted of murdering two other codefendants.”
“His case, not to mention the rest of the tempest of litigation surrounding him, has achieved national and international notoriety. That publicity will not slow down: A civil trial involving Alex presents even more grist for the content mill as a companion piece to an internationally-televised murder trial. It is fair to say that this Court will not be able to seat a jury who does not come in the door with a very strong negative opinion of Alex Murdaugh.”
“That stink will rub off on Parker’s, tainting it by association. Under these circumstances, Parker’s cannot receive a fair trial.”
Parker’s motion adds that separating the two trials “will not” hurt the Plaintiff (the Beach family) in any way.
Judge Hall initially granted Parker’s request to sever back in September of 2022, then reversed that decision a few weeks later.
The estate of Maggie Murdaugh, Buster Murdaugh as well as Luther’s Rare and Well Done and several other defendants have all settled their cases with the Beach family.
The civil trial for both Alex Murdaugh and Parker’s is expected to start Aug. 14 in Hampton County court.
