Buster Murdaugh’s defamation lawsuit against Netflix and other defendants will move forward after a South Carolina judge denied motions seeking to dismiss the case. The lawsuit centers on claims that Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal created the alleged implication that Murdaugh was responsible for the 2015 death of Stephen Smith.
According to the court ruling reported by Count on News, Judge Heath Taylor found that the defendants’ alleged “creative liberties” could allow a viewer to interpret the documentary as answering questions about Murdaugh’s possible involvement in Smith’s death.
Why the Judge Refused to Dismiss the Case
Murdaugh sued Netflix, The Cinemart, Gannett, and journalist Michael DeWitt Jr. in 2024, alleging that the defendants falsely connected him to Smith’s death. Smith was found dead on a rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina, on July 8, 2015, and the case remains unsolved.
Judge Taylor wrote that Murdaugh alleges the defendants
“selectively crafted and interposed interviews”
with other material to create
“the defamatory implication”
that he was responsible for Smith’s death. The ruling does not determine whether Murdaugh’s claims are true, but it means the case has survived the dismissal stage and can continue.
Murdaugh has consistently denied any involvement in Smith’s death and has never been named as a suspect. Netflix had argued that its documentary was protected by the First Amendment and explored existing theories and speculation surrounding the case.
The documentary, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, was released as part of Netflix’s coverage of the wider Murdaugh family case. Netflix describes the series as an examination of the scandals surrounding one of South Carolina’s most prominent families.
