Brian Laundrie's Parents Make ABSURD Request Ahead Of Civil Lawsuit Against Gabby Petito's Parents
By MLC on November 2, 2022 at 10:30 AM EDT
Brian Laundrie’s parents are trying to weasel their way out of being questioned too much during their December civil lawsuit.
According to Fox News, attorneys for Chris and Roberta Laundrie filed a motion asking the court to enforce a narrow line of questioning regarding the murder of Gabby Petito when they are deposed next month.
Gabby was strangled to death by Brian in August 2021.
Brian Laundrie's Parents Make Wild & Absurd Request
The defense team is asking Judge Hunter Carroll to limit questions to details from August 27, 2021 to September 19, 2021.
Gabby’s parents believe she was murdered on or around August 27th and her remains were discovered in a Wyoming national park on September 19th.
"We are just looking to confine the questioning to matters and the time frame relevant to the claim that has been filed," Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino said Friday, October 28th.
The Laundries Want To Limit Line Of Questioning During Deposition
The motion acknowledges that Petito’s family and the public at large are searching for more answers in connection to the 22-year-old’s death; however, it also argues that public interest is not enough to compel the Laundries to answer a broader range of questions.
"The public who followed the case and the Plaintiffs are likely curious about Brian Laundrie’s life, his last days, his interaction with his parents, and the thoughts and feelings experienced by his parents," Laundrie attorney Matthew Luka wrote in the filing. "But curiosity is not a reason to require the Defendants to discuss such personal and heart-wrenching details. Rather, the discovery must be relevant to the cause of action at issue."
Gabby’s parents allege in their lawsuit against the Laundries that they knew their son had killed their daughter and helped him evade law enforcement officials.
The Laundries attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed, but failed to do so.
On June 30, Judge Carroll handed down some news the Laundries were hoping wouldn’t become a reality.
Gabby's Parents Are Suing Chris & Roberta Laundrie
The Petito-Schmidt families are suing Brian’s parents for knowing more about Gabby’s whereabouts than they let on and for taking Brian on a trip after he murdered their daughter in an attempt to flee the country.
Their lawsuit also alleges the Laundrie family intentionally ignored the Petito-Schmidt families’ pleas for help with Roberta even blocking Nichole Schmidt’s number and social media accounts.
"Christopher Laundrie 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 filing, which was obtained by PEOPLE, reads.
The Laundrie’s lawyer, Steven Bertolino, claimed his clients were exercising their fifth amendment rights by staying quiet. The Laundrie’s filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Judge Carroll agreed the family were not required to speak about the case, but disagreed that they stayed completely silent given a statement they released when Gabby’s remains were discovered.
He called the Laundrie’s actions of blocking contact to the Petito-Schmidt’s “particularly callous and cruel.”
"If the facts of this case were truly about silence with no affirmative action by the Laundries, the court would have resolved this case in the Laundries favor on the concept of the lack of legal duty for the Laundries to act," Carroll ruled. "Had the Laundries truly stayed silent, the court would have granted the motion to dismiss in the Laundries favor. But they did not stay silent."
Judge Carroll referred to the Laundrie’s September 14, 2021 statement they gave regarding Gabby’s body being discovered.
The statement, issued through their lawyer, said: "It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family."
He continued to say that if the Petito-Schmidt’s claims in the lawsuit are correct and they knew Gabby was dead, "the Laundries' statement was particularly callous and cruel, and it is sufficiently outrageous to state claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress."
