Gabby Petito’s family has been awarded $3 million from Brian Laundrie’s estate, which is run by his parents, after winning a wrongful death lawsuit. The 22-year-old’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, filed the lawsuit in May 2022 and a judgment was reached on November 17, per journalist Brian Entin. The lawsuit conclusion comes just over a year after Petito’s body was found in Wyoming’s Bridger–Teton National Forest.
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Brian Laundrie did not have 3 million – it’s an arbitrary number – but whatever money is received will go to the Gabby Petito foundation, the family says.
The trial which had been scheduled for December, 2022 will not be held.— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) November 17, 2022
- Brian Laundrie wasn’t rich and his parents don’t have $3 million, either. Entin explained on Twitter that while the Petito’s family is unlikely to ever get the full $3 million, whatever they can pay will go to the charity set up in the victim’s name, the Gabby Petito Foundation. “A final judgment for $3,000,000 has been reached in the lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito’s parents against Brian Laundrie’s estate, according to the family’s attorney,” he wrote. “Brian Laundrie did not have 3 million – it’s an arbitrary number – but whatever money is received will go to the Gabby Petito foundation, the family says. The trial which had been scheduled for December 2022 will not be held.”
- Brian Laundrie’s parents may be on the hook in the future. It could mean that any money the Laundries come into in the future will have to be paid towards the judgment, Radar Online notes, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
- There’s still another lawsuit against the Laundries that has yet to be settled. The suit that was just settled was against the Brian Laundrie estate as a whole. The one yet to be settled was filed by the Petito family against Brian Laundrie’s parents in particular. That’s scheduled to be heard sometime in 2023. It’s unclear what kind of settlement the Petitos are seeking at that point. The legal nightmare for the Laundries is far from over, and given how complicit they were in protecting their son, a murderer, it’s hard to feel sorry for them.
