Major update after Gabby Petito's parents win massive victory in legal battle against Brian Laundrie's family | The Sun

GABBY Petito's parents earned a massive victory in their legal battle against Brian Laundrie's family after a judge decided to move forward with the case.

The court's ruling was made based on Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino's statement during the search for Gabby, which Judge Hunter W Carroll called "objectively outrageous".



Bertolino said at the time, "On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is reunited with her family."

The Laundrie's silence and Bertolino's comment – while allegedly knowing Gabby was dead – provided false hope and invoked emotional distress, Petito's lawyer, Patrick Reilly, argued in court.

"Because the Laundries' statement by their attorney in the context of the unique faces of this case is objectively outrageous, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs [Petitos] have stated causes of actions for intentional infliction of emotional distress against the Laundries," Judge Hunter wrote.

"If the facts of this case truly were about silence with no affirmative act by the Laundries, the Court would have resolved this case in the Laundries’ favor on the concept of legal duty.

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"But they did not stay silent," the judge continued.

Gabby's parents Nicole Schmidt and Joe Petito, who divorced and remarried, held their spouses' hands as they walked to the courtroom together on June 22.

Schmidt clutched her necklace locket that holds Gabby's ashes, and they all wore "Justice for Gabby" bracelets, which are meant to represent Gabby's life; not her death, her parents said.

After the hearing, Schmidt held out a small prayer card that their lawyer said was made by a well-wisher from Australia who drew an image of Gabby as an angel.

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No one from the Laundrie family appeared in court.

More to follow…For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.

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