Laundries Will Answer 'Questions They Can' In Petito Lawsuit: Attorney

SARASOTA, FL — In the wake of a Florida judge's decision on Wednesday to dismiss a request by Chris and Roberta Laundrie to limit the scope of their depositions in the lawsuit filed against them by Gabby Petito's parents, their family attorney says they could invoke their 5th Amendment right to remain silent.

"Chris and Roberta will answer whatever questions they can and they will invoke all of the rights and privileges they are entitled to," Steven Bertolino told Patch in a statement.

Witnesses deposed as part of discovery in lawsuits are compelled to answer questions put before them.

Bertolino said he does not believe the Laundries could be held in contempt of court because "constitutional rights do not stop at the door of a civil proceeding."

Patch has reached out to Petito's family attorney, Patrick Reilly.

The Laundries recently asked a judge consider limiting their depostions to the timeframe between Aug. 27, 2021, which is the day Petito is believed to have been killed by Brian Laundrie, and Sept. 19, 2021, the day she was found strangled to death, WFLA has previously reported.

The Laundries were trying to avoid the revelation of “irrelevant matters” to protect them from “annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, undue burden, and expense,” the outlet reported.

In the motion, which was obtained by the outlet, their attorney writes: “This has been a truly heartbreaking experience for both families. 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. 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.”

Bertolino told WFLA that he and his clients were "just looking to confine the questioning to matters and the time frame relevant to the claim that has been filed."

In the lawsuit filed back in March, Petito's parents claim the intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging the Laundries knew the location of her remains when they left for vacation, Newsday reported.

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.

Last week, Petito's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $3 million that was filed against the Laundries as the executors of their son's estate. A third lawsuit for wrongful death has been filed against the police department in Utah that handled the traffic stop directly after the altercation between Petito and Laundrie.

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