Judge Fines Mandy Matney $176,500 for Subpoena Defiance in Murdaugh Boat-Crash Case
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 14
Judge Fines Mandy Matney $176,500 for Subpoena Defiance in Murdaugh Boat-Crash Case
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 14
Summary
$176,500 in sanctions hit podcaster Mandy Matney after a South Carolina judge found her in civil contempt for refusing to appear for a deposition tied to Murdaugh-family litigation.
Judge R. Keith Kelly's 22-page order said Matney knowingly defied both a valid subpoena and a March 16 court order, rejecting her claim that safety concerns justified skipping the March 27 deposition site.
Parker's lawyers had sought more than $310,000, but Kelly cut the award by about 45% and ordered $171,500 in fees and costs plus a $5,000 fine.
The judge cited Matney's decision to stay at another Bluffton law office and appear by Zoom while attorneys waited at the noticed location, along with social media posts he said undercut her harassment and danger claims.
The contempt fight grew out of the Beach family's civil suit over the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, a case that also helped expose Alex Murdaugh's finances.