COLUMBIA, S.C (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Alex Murdaugh seeking $600,000 in legal fees by the former court clerk whose misconduct led his murder convictions to be overturned on appeal.
Murdaugh sued Becky Hill in May saying she violated his right to a fair trial in the deaths of his wife and son.
A jury found Murdaugh guilty, but the state Supreme Court overturned the convictions and life sentences earlier this year saying Hill's comments to jurors suggested the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and his testimony in his own defense couldn't be trusted.
The problem with Murdaugh's legal reasoning is he would have had to spend the money anyway because it wasn't Hill who investigated or pursued justice against him, Judge Richard Gergel wrote in his ruling Wednesday.
“Plaintiff’s claim contains a fatal flaw — the lack of a causal connection between the funds he expended for his defense in the first trial and Defendant’s misconduct. Defendant had no role in the initiation of criminal charges against Plaintiff,” Gergel wrote.
Murdaugh's attorneys filed a notice to appeal about two hours later.
Murdaugh said in court papers he spent $600,000 from a retirement account to pay for his lawyers in his first trial and will need more money to pay them for his retrial next year in the case that has become a true crime sensation with a streaming miniseries, bestselling books and dozens of podcasts.
Even with his murder convictions overturned, Murdaugh remains in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and is serving a 40-year federal sentence at the same time as a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes.
His retrial on the murder charges has been scheduled for April.
Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were starting to unravel so he killed his wife and son to divert attention and buy time to find a way out of his problems.
FILE - Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca "Becky" Hill listens during her guilty plea, Dec. 8, 2025, in St. Matthews, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)
FILE - Alex Murdaugh arrives for a judicial hearing, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/The State via AP, Pool, File)
The association of European soccer leagues called for governance reform of FIFA on Wednesday, adding to the mounting pressure on president Gianni Infantino following his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.
On the day that Infantino reportedly held a meeting with senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, European Leagues, which includes top competitions like the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, described the proposal as “dangerous” and said it pointed to deeper concerns about how world soccer's governing body operates.
It said it raised “serious questions about FIFA’s governance, internal culture and decision-making.”
“Now more than ever, FIFA requires governance reform that ensures that all relevant stakeholders have a formal role in decisions that shape the future of our game.”
In the statement, European Leagues hit out at the possibility of further expanding the World Cup to 64 teams and said “FIFA must not be allowed to continue taking unilaterally disruptive decisions.”
It said that until there was reform it would reject the “expansion or creation” of FIFA competitions.
Portugal and Real Madrid great Luis Figo also called for Infantino to step down, saying he had “debased the office.”
Later on Wednesday, FIFA denied a British media report suggesting Infantino, in seeking support for his presidency, had offered Morocco the hosting of the final at the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are the main co-hosts for the 2030 edition. Morocco hopes to host the final at the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca; Spain has at least two contenders — the home stadiums of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
A FIFA spokesperson said it's “false and misleading to claim the FIFA president has made any promise in relation to hosting the FIFA World Cup 2030 final. A decision will be made by FIFA in due course.”
The latest condemnations of Infantino's leadership come after a tumultuous week, which has raised questions about his presidency of FIFA ahead of elections in March.
European soccer's governing body UEFA has applied the most intense pressure by voting to boycott the World Cup if Infantino pressed ahead with the controversial plans to sell profits in its top competition through a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would run tournaments.
Even after Infantino's climbdown UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership — possibly paving the way for a challenge to his presidency. The governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) also said FIFA leadership had “stopped putting football first.”
On Tuesday top FIFA officials Arsène Wenger and secretary-general Mattias Grafström distanced themselves from the FFE plans, which emphasized divisions within the organization that were evident when Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned last week and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by the president's lack of openness.
Wednesday's summit in Rabat was dubbed a “crisis meeting” in media reports amid growing expectation that Infantino will be challenged in next year's election when he was aiming for to win a fourth and final term in office.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino is silhouetted as he walks past the World Cup trophy after addressing the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
A view of building where FIFA President Gianni Infantino holds a senior leadership meeting in Sale, Morocco, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Str)
A vehicle carrying FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives for a senior leadership meeting in Sale, Morocco, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo)
FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino looks on during the women's Premier League match between Al Ahli FC and Al Ittihad FC at the Al- Ahli Club stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Dec 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
