South Carolina Judge Orders Podcaster Mandy Matney to Pay $176,500 for Contempt

A South Carolina circuit court judge found podcaster Mandy Matney in civil contempt on July 14 and ordered her to pay $171,500 in attorney fees and costs plus a $5,000 fine, totaling $176,500. Judge R. Keith Kelly concluded Matney deliberately ignored a valid subpoena and court orders requiring her to appear for a deposition in a civil lawsuit tied to the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach.

Why the judge ruled against Matney

Judge Kelly found that Matney willfully defied both a lawful subpoena and multiple court orders when she refused to appear for her March 27 deposition. Kelly concluded she deliberately disregarded a valid subpoena and prior court order requiring her to appear. Instead of attending the deposition at the noticed Bluffton location, Matney remained at another law office in the same city and appeared by Zoom while Parker’s attorneys waited at the scheduled site.

Matney had claimed safety concerns justified her refusal to comply. The judge rejected this argument in his 22-page order filed Monday.

The underlying lawsuit and Matney’s role

The civil litigation stems from the February 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach in Beaufort County. Parker’s convenience stores are among the defendants accused of illegally selling alcohol to underage Paul Murdaugh before the fatal crash. Matney was subpoenaed as a non-party witness after attorneys sought to depose her during discovery. The current case centers on allegations that confidential mediation materials from the Beach case, including graphic postmortem photographs, were improperly disclosed despite being subject to a confidentiality order.

The penalty and its significance

The $176,500 sanction represents a substantial reduction from the $310,533.39 originally requested by Parker’s legal team but remains unusually large for a discovery-related contempt proceeding. The award includes $171,500 in attorney fees and costs to the Parker defendants plus a $5,000 fine. Legal experts noted the penalty is extraordinary for a non-party journalist in a civil case.

What happens next

The Beach v. Parker trial is scheduled for August 10, 2026. Matney has not indicated whether she will appeal the contempt finding. The case has drawn significant public attention due to its connection to the broader Murdaugh saga, which exposed disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh’s financial crimes after his wife and son were fatally shot at their hunting estate in June 2021.

Final Thoughts

The $176,500 penalty against Matney sets an unusual precedent for non-party witnesses in civil litigation. The ruling underscores courts’ power to enforce subpoenas and discovery orders, even against journalists covering high-profile cases.

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