The family of Gabby Petito has settled with the family of Brian Lundry — who killed Gabby during a road trip in 2021 before killing himself weeks later — to avoid trial in the Petitos' emotional distress lawsuit against Lundry's parents.
The two families previously settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the Petitos against Brian's estate for $3 million in November 2022. However, the Petito family also sued the Laundries for emotional distress, claiming that Brian's parents already knew that their son had killed Gabby and didn't tell her parents, even in a search effort to find their then-missing daughter.
Gabby was found murdered in Grand Teton National Park on September 19, 2021, 18 days after Lundry arrived alone in Florida and a week after Petito was first reported missing. Brian's remains—and his written confession about Gabi's strangulation—were found in a Florida environmental park on October 20, 2021.
In the lawsuit, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt accused Brian's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, of “shocking, horrific and completely intolerable” actions that caused them “pain and suffering, mental anguish” and “loss of the ability to enjoy LIFE .”
“While Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were desperately searching for information about their daughter, [the Laundries] kept Brian Laundrie's whereabouts a secret and are believed to have arranged for him to leave the country,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was set to go to trial in May, but after reports about the evidence against the Laundries — including an Aug. 29, 2021 phone call from Brian telling his parents that Gabby was “gone” and that he might need a lawyer — both sides worked towards a settlement, reports CNN.
“All parties tentatively agreed in order to avoid further legal costs and prolonged personal conflict,” the Petito family said in a statement. “We hope to close this chapter in our lives to allow us to move forward and continue to honor the legacy of our beautiful daughter, Gabby.”
The Laundrie family said in a statement through their attorney Steve Bertolino, “Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and I participated in mediation with the Petito family and the civil action has now been resolved. The terms of the resolution are confidential and we look forward to putting this matter behind us.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie-families-settlement-emotional-distress-lawsuit-1234973507/