HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – Disbarred Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh has been dropped from a wrongful death lawsuit following an insurance payout to a teen victim’s family.

Court documents confirm the family of Mallory Beach will receive a $500,000 payout from Murdaugh’s insurance company.

Murdaugh was one of several named in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Beach’s family. Beach was 19 when she died in the boat crash on Feb. 24, 2019, when the boat in which she was a passenger struck the Archer’s Creek bridge near Parris Island.

Murdaugh’s youngest son, Paul, also 19 at the time of the crash, had been charged in Beach’s death. Police said the younger Murdaugh had been drinking the night of the wreck and was driving the boat at the time of the crash.

The charges against Paul Murdaugh were dropped after he and his mother, Maggie, were discovered gunned down at the Murdaugh family’s hunting property in Colleton County back in 2021.

A court filing from Oct. 10 states Alex Murdaugh’s insurance policy with Progressive would only agree to pay the $500,000 settlement on the condition that Murdaugh was dropped from the suit.

In a previous settlement signed in July 2023, Parker’s Corporation agreed to pay $15 million to the Beach family. Authorities said it was at a Parker’s location in Ridgeland where Paul Murdaugh, who was not of drinking age, was seen purchasing alcohol before a boat crash in which Paul was driving and Mallory Beach was killed.

The final settlement marks the end of the boat crash civil case.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.