Insurance company, bank at odds over Murdaugh fraud testimony

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Palmetto State Bank, named in a federal lawsuit centered around millions of dollars Alex Murdaugh is accused of stealing from clients, is asking a court to protect them from questioning they deem unreasonable.

Nautilus Insurance Company is suing Murdaugh and others, including Palmetto State Bank (PSB), after a $4.3 million settlement was paid out for the death of the Murdaughs’ housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. Murdaugh is accused of stealing the money from Satterfield’s sons.

PSB says it did not have any involvement with Satterfield’s estate and in a court filing on Friday requesting a protective order, the bank accuses Nautilus of “dragging” the company into the case because of a “desperate” attempt to find sources to recover the money.

PSB has been asked to provide a witness on June 30 to testify about policies and procedures dating back to 2011, including the bank’s relationship with Murdaugh. PSB says the stolen money didn’t pass through their accounts and is asking for the scope of testimony to be limited in time to early 2018, the year Satterfield died.

PSB also objects to being required to testify about information they consider to be overly broad or irrelevant, including the training of bank personnel, procedures for issuing loans, and other fraud claims against them.

Nautilus says they notified PSB of the topics in May, but the bank waited nearly a month to object to the scope of testimony - filing their request one week before the scheduled deposition. In Nautilus’ response, they said matters dating back to 2011 should be fair game since former CEO of PSB, Russell Laffitte, has been convicted of conspiring with Murdaugh since then.

Nautilus has asked for the court to deny PSB’s request for a protective order.

Stay with FOX Carolina for updates on this developing story. For more coverage on the Murdaugh cases, visit Tangled Web: Lowcountry.

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