Gabby Petito’s parents are continuing to search for answers following their daughter’s death.
The Blast previously reported both Joseph Petito (Gabby’s father) and Nichole Schmidt (Gabby’s mother) filed a lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie.
The initial lawsuit was filed on March 11, and Gabby’s are suing Chris and Roberta for knowing more about their daughter’s death than they let on. Brian’s parents filed a motion to dismiss the original Petito-Schmidt lawsuit.
There’s New Headway In The Gabby Petito Wrongful Death Lawsuit
“A motion to dismiss the baseless and frivolous lawsuit commenced by Gabby Petito’s parents was filed in court,” Bertolino said in the statement. “The Laundries have exercised their constitutional right to refrain from speaking and have relied on counsel to speak for them.”
The lawsuit was then amended and resubmitted to Judge Hunter W. Caroll in Florida.
On April 13, Florida news station WFLA reported that a jury trial has been ordered AND scheduled for the lawsuit filed by Gabby’s parents against the Laundries.
While this is very hopeful news, there is still a chance the trial won’t happen, but if it does, the trail won’t take place until 2023.
A Tentative Trial Date Has Been Set
WFLA obtained court documents which state that “a trial in front of a jury has been set for the week of August 14, 2023, at the South County Courthouse in Venice, Florida. The trial’s term window doesn’t begin until next year due to scheduling in the Sarasota County court system.”
Given a jury trial has been ordered, a potential list of witnesses to stand trial have been reported.
In a new report from WFLA on Tuesday, May 24, the lawsuit against Chris and Roberta has an initial witness list.
The list includes the Laundries, law enforcement and others connected to the case.
A Potential Witness List Has Been Revealed!
The Florida news station reported the initial witness list is routine, procedural and not a definitive list of names that would testify.
The Plaintiff’s witness list includes: Joseph Petito, Nichole Schmidt, Tara Petito (Gabby’s stepmother), James Schmidt (Gabby’s stepfather), Christopher Laundrie, Roberta Laundrie, Representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (names not specified), and Representatives of the North Port Police Department (names not specified).
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Bertolino spoke out about the list saying it’s a “wish list.”
“I’m sure Petito and Schmidt attorney, Pat Reilly, put every party on that list that he believes he needs testimony from to prove his case,” he continued.
Arguments for the motion to dismiss are scheduled to be heard in a Sarasota County Circuit Court on June 22 at 1:30 PM, per WFLA.
This will be the first court hearing in the Petito case. A ruling on the dismissal attempt is expected by mid-to-late-summer.
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We recently reported on her mother’s new wrongful death lawsuit against the Laundrie’s estate.
On Friday, May 13, Gabby’s mother filed a new wrongful death lawsuit in Florida against the curator of the estate of deceased Brian Laundrie, according to Fox News.
Per the outlet, the lawsuit seeks wrongful death damages of at least $30,000.
It states that Brian intentionally killed Gabby, and also demands a trial by jury and judgement for compensatory damages.
The court documents state Gabby and Brian “became engaged to marry on or about July 2, 2020. On Juy 2, 2021, Brian Laundrie and Gabrielle Petito left New York in a van owned by Gabrielle Petito to take a trip to the western United States which was expected to last for several months.”
Schmidt’s last interaction with her daughter was on August 27, 2021.
