Murdaugh sued Becky Hill in May saying she violated his right to a fair trial in the deaths of his wife and son. 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. His retrial on the murder charges has been scheduled for April.