A South Carolina circuit judge has held journalist Mandy Matney in civil contempt and ordered her to pay $171,500 in attorneys’ fees and costs, plus a $5,000 fine, after she refused to comply with a court‑issued subpoena in a high‑profile civil case.
In a 22‑page opinion, Judge R. Keith Kelly concluded that Matney deliberately ignored a valid subpoena and a prior order requiring her to appear for a deposition, rejecting her claim that safety concerns justified her absence.
The contempt finding stems from ongoing litigation arising from a 2019 boat crash that killed 19‑year‑old Mallory Beach. The suit alleges that a convenience‑store chain sold alcohol to underage Paul Murdaugh before the fatal accident.
Paul Murdaugh faced boating‑under‑the‑influence charges that were later dismissed after he and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, were shot at the family’s hunting estate in 2021.
The civil lawsuit against members of the Murdaugh family and the store chain helped expose extensive financial misconduct by the disgraced attorney at the center of the case.
Judge Kelly noted that Matney declined to appear at the Bluffton deposition site on March 27, despite acknowledging the court’s denial of her motion to quash the subpoena. Instead, she remained at another law office while the plaintiffs’ attorneys waited at the designated location.
According to the order, Matney later participated by Zoom from a different office, a move the judge described as a “deliberate decision to disregard the subpoena and the Court’s March 16, 2026 Order.”
The judge found Matney’s safety‑concern argument unconvincing, stating there was no persuasive evidence that the plaintiffs’ attorneys were attempting to harass or endanger her.
Social‑media posts showing Matney eating lemon pound cake with counsel and later dining in Savannah were cited as evidence of her intent to defy the deposition requirement.
While the plaintiffs originally sought more than $310,000 in fees and costs, the court reduced the award by nearly 45 percent, directing Matney to pay $171,500 plus a $5,000 fine. The award was allocated among several law firms, with $39,900 to Bannister, Wyatt and Stalvey, LLC; $45,950 to Deborah B. Barbier, LLC; and $85,650 to Maynard Nexsen, PC.
Matney responded on social media, expressing anger at the “unprecedented” financial penalty and characterizing the state’s justice system as corrupt.
Judge Kelly reiterated that no credible evidence supported Matney’s harassment allegations and that the contempt proceeding resulted from her own conduct, noting that compliance with the deposition or acceptance of alternative locations would have avoided the contempt finding.
