TAMPA, Fla. — A judge awarded the family of Gabby Petito $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the estate of Brian Laundrie.
The settlement was signed Thursday by Sarasota County Circuit Judge Hunter W. Carroll. A lawyer for Petito’s parents said whatever money is received will go to the Gabby Petito Foundation dedicated to locating missing people and curbing domestic violence.
“The Petito family lost their daughter and they were also denied the opportunity to confront her killer,” said attorney Patrick Reilly in an email. “No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie.”
Back in May 2022, the mother of Gabby Petito filed another lawsuit against the estate of Brian Laundrie. Petito was killed by Laundrie while on a trip in Wyoming.
It was the second lawsuit filed by Petito's mother.
A separate lawsuit, still pending in Sarasota, claims Laundrie’s parents wrongly concealed that he confessed to killing Petito before he returned home in September 2021 to Florida from their trip out West in a converted van.
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt filed the first lawsuit against Christopher and Roberta Laundrie on March 10. The parents of Laundrie filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit at the beginning of May.
Statement from the attorneys for Petito family:
A Final Judgment by Stipulation of the parties in the amount of $3 million has been entered in the wrongful death case filed against the Estate of Brian Laundrie and in favor of Nichole Schmidt as Administrator of the Estate of Gabrielle Venora Petito. As a result, trial which has been scheduled for December, 2022 will not be held.The Petito family lost their daughter, and they were also denied the opportunity to confront her killer. No amount of money is sufficient to compensate the Petito family for the loss of their daughter, Gabby, at the hands of Brian Laundrie. Brian did not have $3 million; it’s an arbitrary number. Whatever monies they do receive will help Gabby’s family in their endeavors with the Gabby Petito Foundation. The Gabby Petito Foundation will continue to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations, through education, awareness, and prevention strategies. Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt wish to turn their personal tragedy into a positive. It is their hope that Gabby’s foundation will bring these important issues into the forefront of the public eye to the benefit of all our communities.
Statement from the Laundrie family attorney:
At the last court conference for this claim against Brian’s Estate I indicated to Judge Carroll that I would work with attorney Reilly to find a resolution to the wrongful death claim to avoid the expense of a trial when the outcome of a money judgment was unavoidable. Working with Pat Reilly, and Matt Luka from Trombley and Hanes, we reached an agreement to settle the wrongful death claim for $3 million. Hopefully, this brings some closure to this one chapter of this tragedy and I look forward to working with Pat Reilly to resolve the litigation pending against Chris and Roberta.
