MOAB, Utah — In a hearing Wednesday morning, a judge ruled in favor of the Moab Police Department in a lawsuit brought by Gabby Petito's family.
Petito was murdered by her boyfriend Brian Laundrie in Wyoming in August of 2021. Two weeks earlier, the couple was involved in a domestic violence incident in which Moab Police failed to arrest one or both of them, contrary to state laws and department policy.
Her family filed a $50 million civil lawsuit, contending that the police did not investigate thoroughly enough to determine if Petito was the victim of domestic violence and that her life was in danger.
On Wednesday, Judge Don Torgerson ruled that the Moab Police Department could not be held accountable due to the Government Immunity Act of Utah, which protects officers from liability.
In doing so, he leaves the door open for the family to take the case to the court of appeals.
"I do think that plaintiffs have made a prima facie case that Moab's officers' conduct here could have been a cause of death. Not necessarily THE cause of death, but a cause of death," the judge said. "And based on the pleadings and making every inference in favor of plaintiffs, the court is going to deny the motion to dismiss on causation grounds because that's a factually intensive question."
FOX 13 News reached out to the Petito family, who released the following statement:
"While the ruling today may feel like a setback, it was not unexpected. We never anticipated that this would be an easy process and look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the Utah Constitution's original intent to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances. We remain committed to pursuing justice for Gabby and thank the many people who have continued to support us in that fight."
