Judge denies motion to include Satterfield family in insurance fraud lawsuit

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A federal judge has denied a request to include the Satterfield family in a pending lawsuit, siding in favor of their attorneys who have strongly opposed the motion.

READ MORE: Satterfield attorneys blast suggestion family be added to Murdaugh lawsuit

Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys originally filed that request.

Judge Richard Gergel made the decision during a hearing on Tuesday in federal court to discuss nine pending motions which he referred to as a “blizzard of filings” and to discuss strategy moving forward in the discovery process.

Nautilus Insurance company originally filed the suit in order to recoup the $3.8 million it says Alex Murdaugh obtained by false claims when filing for life insurance for his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

READ MORE: Murdaugh admits lies in new response to fraud lawsuit regarding housekeeper’s death

Judge Gergel also granted the insurance company’s motion to amend its original complaint.

He advised their team that discovery would be limited in order to not “bury " anyone in “an avalanche of documents”.

Gergel also instructed representatives of the company that in order to keep others named in the suit as part of the legal proceedings, including Vice President of Palmetto State Bank Chad Westendorf and Attorney Cory Fleming, they would have to prove they knew about the scheme to steal money

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