Judge throws out Alex Murdaugh’s $600,000 suit against former court clerk

A federal judge in the United States has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina lawyer, who sought $600,000 in legal fees from Becky Hill, the former court clerk whose actions led to the overturning of his murder convictions.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Richard Gergel said Murdaugh’s claim had a fundamental flaw: no direct link existed between the money he spent on his defense and Hill’s misconduct. Hill had not initiated the criminal charges against him, and Murdaugh would have faced the same legal costs regardless of her behavior.

Murdaugh filed the suit in May, arguing that Hill violated his right to a fair trial in the case involving the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. A jury originally found him guilty, but the state supreme court overturned the convictions and life sentences earlier this year. The court found that Hill’s comments to jurors had suggested Murdaugh was guilty and that his testimony in his own defense could not be trusted.

Murdaugh had claimed that he spent $600,000 from a retirement account to pay his lawyers for the first trial and that he would need additional funds for his retrial, scheduled for April. His legal team noted that the case has attracted widespread attention, including a streaming miniseries, bestselling books, and numerous podcasts.

Despite the overturned murder convictions, Murdaugh remains in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $12 million from his clients and is now serving a 40-year federal sentence alongside a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes. Investigators have said that Murdaugh, who was addicted to opioids, killed his wife and son in an attempt to distract from his unraveling financial schemes and to buy time to find a solution.

The judge’s dismissal means Murdaugh will not recover the requested fees from Hill. The retrial on the murder charges is still pending.