Sarasota judge denies motion to dismiss negligence case against Brian Laundrie's parents

A Sarasota judge denied a motion filed by Brian Laundrie's parents to dismiss a negligence lawsuit against them filed by the parents of Gabrielle Petito.

Twelfth Circuit Court Judge Hunter W. Carroll made the decision a little more than a week after a hearing June 22. Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt, Petito's parents attended the hearing but Christopher and Roberta Laundrie did not.

Carroll said that the ruling did not determine what happened to Petito, only that Petito's parents made a valid claim against the Laundries and can proceed with their lawsuit.

While the Laundries did make additional arguments in their filings and during the hearing, the court found them to be insufficient enough to dismiss the motion, according to the order.

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The lawsuit filed against the Laundries on March 10 claimed the couple knew about the whereabouts of their son following Petito's death and may have been trying to aid in getting him out of the country before his death.

Petito and Laundrie had gone on a cross-country road trip in July 2021. Petito, 22, was later found dead from blunt force trauma near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Laundrie would return to his parents home in Florida, before disappearing. His remains were found on Oct. 20, 2021 in Myakkahatcchee Creek Park in North Port.

The suit claims the Laundries' actions caused pain, suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life experienced in the past and to be experienced in the future to Petito's parents. They are suing for damages that exceed $30,000.

Matthew Luka, attorney for the Laundries, said during the hearing the couple acted within their constitutional rights by not speaking to Petito's parents, who were desperately searching for their daughter.

Petito's parents claimed the Laundries knowingly put out a false statement through their attorney saying they hoped Gabby would be found and reunited with her family, when they knew Gabby was dead.

For the purpose of the motion to dismiss the case, Carroll assumed that the Laundries were responsible for the statement issued by the attorney, according to the order.

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"As alleged by the Plaintiffs, the Laundries made their statement knowing that Gabby was dead, knowing the location of her body, and knowing that her parents were frantically looking for her," Carroll said in the order. "If this is true, then the Laundries' statement was particularly callous and cruel, and it is sufficiently outrageous to state claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress."

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Judge denies motion to dismiss suit against Brian Laundrie's parents