Gabby Petito: Judge Tosses Family's Wrongful Death Lawsuit

MOAB, UT — A Utah judge has thrown out a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of slain Long Islander Gabby Petito.

The decision came Wednesday after attorneys argued on the $50 million lawsuit filed against a Utah police department over its handling of the infamous traffic stop involving Petito and Brian Laundrie shortly before her slaying.

The lawsuit argues the Moab City Police Department did not properly investigate during the traffic stop, delving deeper to see if Petito was the victim of domestic violence whose life was in danger.

The judge in the case partially sided with Petito's family, explaining that they may have made a strong argument pointing out that the department's investigation could be a contributing factor in her murder, but ultimately he agreed with Moab City attorneys that it couldn’t be the cause of her murder, ABC reported.

Salt Lake City attorney Mitchell Stephens, who is representing Moab, said Petito died 38 days after the domestic incident around 400 miles away and outside the state, arguing it's speculation that a faulty investigation led to her murder, requiring the court to side with his clients, the outlet reported.

Stephens did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement to Patch, Petito's family said: "While the ruling 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.”

Bodycam footage shows a distraught Petito following a physical fight that she had with Laundrie while the two were on a "Van Life" road trip three years ago.

During her interview with officers, Petito admitted to slapping Laundrie and was nearly arrested as the main aggressor, but the officers opted not to charge her and instead deemed the incident a mental health crisis before separating them for the night.

Laundrie is believed to have strangled Petito to death 16 days after the domestic violence incident on Aug. 28, 2021.

Back in April, the city moved to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Petito's parents, Joseph Petito, and Nichole Schmidt, by invoking immunity under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act under the argument that the department cannot be held liable for Petito's death because she was slain by her fiancé, Laundrie.

The immunity defense was previously challenged under a wrongful death clause in the 1996 case of Tiede v. State, in which the Utah Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality — something that the Moab City's attorneys are relying on, Petito's family's attorney, Brian Stewart, previously told Patch.

In a brief filed by Stewart and his colleagues, it is argued that “when a child dies due to the negligence of a city and an assault and battery of a third party, the law leaves her parents without remedy," though its "not the view held by those who settled this state.”

Stewart on Monday said he and his colleagues were arguing that "the governmental immunity statute is unconstitutional in that the Utah constitution specifically says that the right of action to recover damages for wrongful death shall never be abrogated by will be subject to statutory limitation."

At the time, he said that if the court agrees with Moab, then he would appeal to the Utah Supreme Court "to get that constitutional interpretation."

"Gabby's family remains undeterred, and they are moving forward to continue their desire to make change nationally, and in Utah, with regard to the law and how law enforcement responds to victims of domestic violence," Stewart said in the interview.

Moab City spokeswoman Lisa Church declined comment Monday.

After an independent review of the traffic stop found there were unintentional mistakes, the city released a statement credited the officers for showing "kindness, respect, and empathy in their handling of this incident."

"As the Moab City Police Department continues its daily mission to serve our community, efforts are underway to provide additional resources and tools to assist them in addressing domestic violence incidents," the statement continued.

Officials said that it has been recommended that the incident report be made more complete and they intend to implement the recommendation, as well as the others cited in the report.

"The City of Moab sends our sincere condolences to the Petito family," the statement read. "Our hearts go out to them as they continue to deal with the tragic loss of their daughter."

When Petito, a 23-year-old Blue Point native, did not respond to her mother by phone, she filed a missing persons report with Suffolk County police on Sept. 10, 2021, sparking a massive inter-state search.

Laundrie, who by then had returned in Petito's van to his parents' house in Florida, refused to cooperate with investigators and ended up going into a nearby swamp where investigators say he shot himself.

In a notebook later found near his remains, Laundrie claims to have carried out a mercy killing, by strangling Petito because she was in so much pain after falling into a ravine.

Petito's remains were found near Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021.

In the three years since her death, her family has championed the cause of domestic violence.
In a statement released by Stewart's office, Petito's family also said they would remain unflinching in their legal fight.

"We remain undeterred in our commitment to seek justice for Gabby, accountability for Moab and change that will help protect other victims of domestic violence," the statement read.

"We are confident that the Utah Constitution preserves the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances, and trust that Utah courts will ultimately uphold that right. We express gratitude to the many people around the country who have continued to support us in our fight for Gabby."