BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA: The family of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old girl from Hampton, South Carolina who died in 2019 during a tragic late-night boat excursion, has reached an out-of-court settlement of $15 million with "all remaining defendants," weeks before the civil case was scheduled to go to trial.
The young woman was flung from the boat when it struck the Archers Creek Bridge in Beaufort, South Carolina, in February of that year and her body was located after five days.
A "global settlement" has been struck with "several defendants," including Alex Murdaugh, a convicted murderer who is currently incarcerated, after months of discussions. The trial that was scheduled to take place in Hampton County, South Carolina on August 14 will no longer take place. The additional defendants besides Alex, the owner of the boat that crashed, are Savannah convenience store owner Greg Parker and his firm Parker's Kitchen, who sold alcohol to Alex's son Paul, the alleged driver of the boat at the time of the incident.
As per reports, Paul Murdaugh's girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, along with Miley Altman, her boyfriend Connor Cook, and his cousin Anthony Cook — who was dating Beach — were also on board. Four of the five survivors suffered injuries requiring hospitalization. Paul was apparently driving. Paul Murdaugh allegedly used a credit card belonging to his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, and ID belonging to elder brother Buster Murdaugh to illegally purchase alcohol while underage from a convenience store owned by Parker’s Kitchen earlier that day.
The Beach family claimed that Parker's convenience store worker sold alcohol to a minor named Paul just hours before the collision, which directly caused Mallory's death. The female clerk did check the ID to make sure it was legitimate and ran it through her system, but she did not confirm that the individual handing up the driver's license matched the buyer's height, weight, or face.
Who are the other defendants?
Attorney Mark Tinsley verified limited facts of the settlement deal to News 4 on Sunday night, July 16. Other boat occupants, including Morgan Dowdy, Miley Altman, Conor Cook, and Anthony Cook, have settled claims against Parker's and will share $3 million. Connor Cook and his cousin Anthony settled the dispute for $1 million each, with Dowdy and Altman splitting the remaining million. Palmetto State attorney Bakari Sellers tweeted ahead of the settlement on Sunday, "Case won't see a trial. That's (Parker's) last pebble. Will settle."
Who is Greg Parker?
Greg Parker, the founder, and CEO of the convenience store firm Parker's Kitchen started his first store in Midway, Georgia in 1976. Since then, he has expanded the business to a 68-store, award-winning chain with sites all across Georgia and South Carolina. The company, known for its exceptional food services, pristine establishments, and cutting-edge technology, was embroiled in a dispute with the family of Mallory Beach, who died in a drunken boating accident in 2019. The family settled its lawsuit against Parker’s Kitchen for $15 million.
The complaint was filed against Parker on March 29, 2019, nearly a month after Beach died. The boat was purportedly operated by an inebriated Paul, who bought the booze at a Parker's Kitchens convenience store. Parker's attorneys denied that the company is to blame for Beach's death. They claimed Beach knowingly chose to board a boat with an intoxicated driver and accepted the danger. Attorney Tinsley shared a photo on Twitter of himself smiling in a hat with the words "FU GP" in green text and a gas symbol. GP is most likely an abbreviation for Greg Parker, the CEO of Parker's Kitchen.
Parker's attorney PK Shere said in a statement, as per WJCL 22 News, "It is disappointing that the contents of settlement discussions have been disclosed today counter to the mediation agreement that was signed by all who participated." He added, "The application of the joint and several liability law in South Carolina meant that, if Parker’s was found even 1% at fault, it would have paid for the entirety of any verdict rendered against the Murdaugh family. The unfairness of that caused Parker’s insurance carriers to resolve these suits to avoid paying the likely award intended to punish Alex Murdaugh. This marks the conclusion of all the boat crash cases. We sincerely hope that all involved parties will find some measure of closure."