Mallory Beach boat crash case and others reach settlement

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - There has been a settlement in the boat crash cases where Mallory Beach was killed back in 2019.

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All cases settled today for 18 million dollars.

According to one of the attorneys in the case, the Beach family will receive 15 million dollars.

Connor Cook, and his cousin Anthony Cook resolved the case for one million dollars each. Joe McCulloch, attorney for Connor, said his client feels like a weight has been lifted now that a lengthy trial will be avoided.

“I think relief is what came through the phone to me,” McCulloch said about speaking with Connor after the settlement was reached. “A guy that is so happy for it to end. I think relief was the order of their day and I bet they had a great night’s sleep.”

This means the trial slated for next month in Hampton County has been resolved.

There is still a civil trial pending that has not yet been scheduled.

Karl Folkens of the Folkens law firm in Florence mediated the cases.

Mark Tinsley, attorney for the Beach family, released this statement about the settlement:

“The settlements with the gas station demonstrate, to use Parker’s word, an “exoneration” of the young people in the boat that Parker so readily blames. Underage drinking is a serious and costly problem. Blaming the kids won’t solve the problem. The people who enable underage drinking must be stopped. It’s shameful that nearly 2 people per week die in this state alone as a result of underage drinking. The Beach family believes this settlement will serve as a warning to all the Parker’s of the world, who might make an illegal sale of alcohol to a minor, that they will be held to account for their wrongful conduct if they do. These settlements won’t bring Mallory back, but we hope they do save someone else’s son or daughter.
All of the cases were settled with Parker’s and Mallory Beach’s wrongful death case settled with them for $15 million. We are winding up the remaining claims against Alex Murdaugh with the court’s receiver who has taken all of his assets.”
Mark Tinsley

FOX Carolina News also received a statement from the lead attorney representing Parker’s, the convenience store where Paul Murdaugh used his older brother’s ID to buy alcohol:

“It is disappointing that the contents of settlement discussions have been disclosed counter to the mediation agreement that was signed by all who participated.
Recently, the court ruled that Parker’s would be tethered to Alex Murdaugh at the upcoming trial. The fact remains that Tajeeha Cohen made a legal and valid sale, as was determined by SLED. This case was never about that legal and valid sale nor was it about the repeated bad decisions that these young adults made that night. For Mark Tinsley, it was all about using the Murdaughs’ bad actions and the unfair law of joint and several liability in South Carolina to make Parker’s pay for a verdict intended to punish the Murdaughs. Given the outsized publicity this case has received, being tethered to a convicted murderer all but ensured Parker’s would not receive a fair trial.
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. Our hearts continue to go out to the Beach family. We sincerely hope that all involved parties will find some measure of closure.”
PK Shere

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