Gabby Petito's Family Awarded $3 Million In Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Laundries

SARASOTA, FL — The family of Gabby Petito has settled for $3 million in the wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of her confessed killer fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

A final judgment of stipulation has been entered favoring Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, as the administrator, and as a result the case will not go to trial next month, attorney Patrick Reilly said in a statement to Patch on Thursday.

He explained that Petito's parents not only lost their daughter, but also "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 her killer, Brian Laundrie," he wrote. "Brian did not have $3 million; it's an arbitrary number."

He said that whatever monies they do receive will help Gabby’s family "in their endeavors with the Gabby Petito Foundation," adding "that it 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."

He went on to say that Schmidt and Petito's father, Joseph Petito, "wish to turn their personal tragedy into a positive," adding, "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."

Steven Bertolino, the family attorney for Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, told Patch in a statement that at the last court conference for the claim against the estate, he indicated to the judge that he would work with 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,” he wrote. “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."

Attorney Barry Spivey, who was appointed by the court to curate Laundrie’s estate, told Newsday he was not authorized to release any information about Laundrie's assets, but said, “It’s not a lot.”

The 23-year-old Petito, who grew up in Blue Point, and Laundrie, had been traveling in her van across the country when she lost contact with her family in the summer of 2021, and her mother, Nichole Schmidt, reported her missing Sept. 11.

Laundrie drove her van to his parents' house in North Port, FL, where the couple had been living.

Multiple law enforcement agencies across the country undertook a massive investigation into her disappearance, while Laundrie refused to speak with them.

He later drove to a Florida swamp, where he shot himself. He left his confession in his notebook, claiming he strangled her out of mercy after she fell into a ravine.

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

In a previous statement, Bertolino called the lawsuit "fully expected" and will most likely "not be defended."

"The Petitos will have gained nothing more than a piece of paper that tells them what everyone already knows — which is that Brian was responsible for Gabby’s death as indicated by the FBI," he added.

The lawsuit is separate from another civil lawsuit that was filed by Petito’s parents against the Laundries back in March, claiming the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In the lawsuit, they allege the Laundries knew the location of her remains when they left for vacation, according to a report in Newsday.

Reilly wrote: “They went on vacation knowing that Brian Laundrie had murdered Gabrielle Petito, it is believed that they knew where her body was located, and further knew that Gabrielle Petito’s parents were attempting to locate her,” the outlet reported.

The lawsuit alleges the Laundries knew their son murdered Petito and the pair had plans to help him go on the run outside of the United States, WFLA.com reported.

It further alleges there was also evidence of blunt force injuries to her head and neck, the outlet reported.

It also claims Laundrie texted back and forth between his phone and Petito's after her death "in an effort to hide the fact that she was deceased," and mentions a text he is believed to have sent to Schmidt on Aug. 27 that refers to Petito's grandfather by his first name, Stan, WFLA.com reported.

Schmidt has stated in previous interviews that her daughter never would have called him by his first name and at the time, it concerned her.

The lawsuit also mentions a text believed to be sent by Laundrie to Schmidt as he pretended to be Petito, claiming there was no service in Yosemite "in an effort to deceive her," according to the outlet.

Petito's family has previously said there was no communication between them and the Laundries, and in their lawsuit, they highlight how the family would not answer questions from them or law enforcement about Petito's disappearance and how they went camping at Fort DeSoto Park "while Gabrielle Petito's family was suffering," WFLA.com reported.

The lawsuit also claims that Roberta Laundrie blocked Schmidt's phone number and blocked her from messaging on Facebook around the time her daughter was reported missing, according to the outlet.

The lawsuit accuses the Laundries of "malice or great indifference to the rights of" Petito's family, WFLA.com reported.

"Christopher and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior," that "goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community," according to the lawsuit obtained by the outlet.

The lawsuit seeks at least $100,000, and states that Petito and Schmidt suffered pain and mental anguish as a result of the "willfulness and maliciousness" of the Laundries, WFLA.com reported.

Bertolino has previously called the lawsuit "baseless and frivolous" and said the Laundries cannot be held liable for exercising their legal right to remain silent," Fox reported.

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This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.