Gabby Petito’s Family Lawsuit to Proceed After Florida Judge Denies Brian Laundrie Parents' Request to Dismiss It

A Florida judge has denied the motion of Brian Laundrie's parents to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's parents.

According to WFLA, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll has allowed the intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit to move forward because, at this stage, Petito's parents had a valid claim against the elder Laundries.

In their motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Laundrie's parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, argued that they had fundamental constitutional rights to silence. They added that there are also no facts to support the claims of Petito's parents of "intentional infliction of emotional distress."

But in Thursday's order, Carroll wrote that Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, mostly complained about the Laundries "failing to act," like not telling the family where Petito was or if she was dead, CNN reported.

Carroll noted that he would have ruled for Laundrie's parents if the case was about them remaining silent, and they had done so. However, they were not silent.

The elder Laundries released a statement through their lawyer, Steve Bertolino, on September 14 in response to the public's interest in Petito's disappearance.

A part of Bertolino's statement said: "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."

It added: "On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment."

"For purposes of the motion to dismiss," Carroll said the court "must assume the Laundries are responsible for authoring" the statement issued by their lawyer. The camp of Laundrie's parents said their statement was "not outrageous as a matter of law" and was merely a "plain statement."

But the camp of Petito's parents said the statement was "outrageous" since it was designed to create false hope. They noted that the Laundries made the statement knowing Petito was already dead, where her body was located, and her parents were frantically looking for her.

"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," Carroll noted.

The camp of Laundrie's also made additional arguments in their motion that denying their appeal to dismiss the case would result in an "avalanche of litigation" for people in similar situations.

But the Florida judge noted that "there will be no avalanche of litigation" based on denying the Laundries' motion to dismiss.

Camps of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's Families React to the Decision of the Florida Judge

Both camps of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's families have reacted to the decision of the Florida judge. In an emailed statement to CNN, the attorney for Petito's parents, Patrick Reilly, said that Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt were "appreciative of the thorough and well-reasoned decision" of Carroll.

The lawyer added that Petito's parents were looking forward to discovering the information that the Laundries knew about Petito's death and her whereabouts.

The attorney further noted that Petito's parents also wanted to get a copy of any correspondence, emails and texts exchanged when Petito was still missing.

Reilly said Joseph and Nichole were also looking forward to going to trial and were confident that "ultimately the Laundries will be held accountable."

On the other hand, Bertolino said in a statement to WFLA that Christopher and Roberta were disappointed by the decision of the Florida judge to deny their motion. The lawyer added that Brian Laundries' parents will continue to use "all available legal means to preserve their rights."

Gabby Petito Parents' Civil Lawsuit Against Brian Laundrie's Parents

Gabby Petito's parents filed the civil lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents in Florida on March 10. The lawsuit claimed that the elder Laundries knew their son killed Petito and sought to help him flee the country.

It further noted that Christopher and Roberta also knew of the mental suffering and anguish that the Petito family was experiencing but still refused to respond to them.

The Petito family is seeking damages of at least $100,000 for the "pain and mental anguish" they experienced as a result of the "willfulness and maliciousness" of Laundrie's parents. The elder Laundries filed their motion to dismiss the case on March 30.

Last month, Petito's mom also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the curator of Laundrie's estate. The lawsuit seeks wrongful death damages of $30,000 as it claimed that Laundrie intentionally killed Petito.

As a direct result of Laundrie's conduct, the lawsuit noted that Petito's parents "incurred funeral and burial expenses, and they have suffered a loss of care and comfort, and suffered a loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort."

The complaint was filed against Barry Spivey, who was identified in the suit as the court-appointed curator of Laundrie's estate. In this lawsuit, Petito's mom also demanded a trial by jury and judgment for compensatory damages.

Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19. A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said she was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide.

Meanwhile, Laundrie's skeletal remains were discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on October 20. His autopsy report showed that he died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide.

Last January, the FBI revealed that Laundrie confessed to killing Petito in a message left in his notebook. In its final report on the case, the FBI noted that its investigation has concluded that Brian Laundrie was the only person responsible for Gabby Petito's "tragic death."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Gabby Petito Case: Lawsuit Claiming Brian Laundrie's Parents Knew of Traveler's Death Headed to Trial - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay