NORTH PORT, Fla. (NewsNation) — Brian Laundrie’s parents are trying to get a judge to throw out a civil lawsuit brought against them by Gabby Petito’s parents, their attorney told NewsNation Wednesday.
The lawsuit — filed by Petito’s father, Joseph, and mother, Nichole Schmidt, earlier this month — accuses the Laundrie family of knowing their son killed Petito and working to help him flee the country.
Christopher and Roberta Laundrie filed the 20-page motion to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday, calling Petito and Schmidt’s legal theories “fatally flawed,” stating the Laundries have a constitutional right to remain silent, and their silence cannot be the basis of a suit over emotional distress.
“The Laundries had a legal right to do, or not do, everything described in the Complaint. The Laundries are entitled to the right of freedom of thought protected by the First Amendment against which includes both the right to speak freely and the right to refrain from speaking at all,” the motion states.
The motion goes on to say the foundation of the plaintiff’s distress — a lack of information about their daughter’s whereabouts — “has been resolved,” and there is no more information that could bolster their claims.
“Myself and my colleagues at Trombley & Hanes, who are representing Chris and Roberta Laundrie in this matter, are confident that the constitutional rights of all citizens of this country will be protected by the dismissal of this lawsuit,” the Laundries’ lawyer, Steve Bertolino, wrote in a statement to NewsNation Monday.
Petito’s parents allege in their lawsuit that Laundrie told his parents he killed Petito “on or about” the days following Petito’s alleged Aug. 2021 death.
The lawsuit claims the Laundrie family refused to respond to questions from law enforcement and Petito’s family once the official search for Petito was underway. It also claims Roberta Laundrie blocked Schmidt’s phone number and blocked her on Facebook around the time Petito was reported missing.
“It is believed that … Brian Laundrie advised his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, that he had murdered Gabrielle Petito,” the lawsuit states. “On that same date, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie spoke with attorney Steve Bertolino, and sent him a retainer on Sept. 2, 2021.”
The lawsuit came two months after the FBI confirmed Laundrie claimed responsibility for Petito’s death through written statements discovered in a notebook that investigators found near his remains.
Petito, 22, vanished while on a well-documented, cross-country road trip with Laundrie in a converted camper van. Then social media posts about the trip abruptly ceased, allegedly somewhere in Wyoming. Petito was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days.
The lawsuit also alleges Laundrie sent messages back and forth between his phone and Petito’s after her death “in an effort to hide the fact that she was deceased.”
Petito’s body was found Sept. 19 just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. A Teton County coroner said she died by strangulation three to four weeks before her body was found.
According to the documents, Petito’s parents also believe Laundrie’s parents were planning to help their son leave the United States while a manhunt was underway: “While Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were desperately searching for information concerning their daughter, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie were keeping the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie secret, and it is believed were making arrangements for him to leave the country.”
Brian Laundrie’s remains were found in October, after more than a month of searching a 24,000-acre Florida nature reserve. In November, authorities confirmed Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Brian Laundrie’s items and remains were found in a swampy area — home to alligators, snakes, coyotes and other wildlife — that had previously been underwater, according to Michael McPherson, chief of the Tampa FBI office.
Joseph Petito and Schmidt were seeking damages of at least $100,000, according to the documents filed this week, stating they suffered pain and mental anguish as a result of the “willfulness and maliciousness” of the Laundries.
“Christopher and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the lawsuit says.