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‘Truth will be revealed’: Gabby Petito’s dad celebrates after Laundries' motion to dismiss lawsuit fails

The court agreed that the Petitos could proceed with the lawsuit as they had 'causes of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress against the Laundries'

SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA: Gabby Petito’s father has shared a rather perplexing message on Twitter after Sarasota County Court refuted a motion filed by Brian Laundrie’s parents. The late vlogger Petito’s parents had filed a lawsuit against her boyfriend’s family. But the Laundries’ lawyer appealed to dismiss the civil lawsuit, which has now been denied.

After the court’s decision was out, Joseph Petito tweeted: “#thetruthwillberevealed #justiceforGabby #GabbyPetito,” while re-sharing a tweet from WFLA-TV journalist JB Biunno. Biunno’s tweet included the court’s ruling that read, “Today's ruling does not determine what happened to Gabby Petito. It determines only whether Gabby Petito's parents (the Plaintiffs) stated a valid claim against Brian Laundrie's parents (the Defendants).”

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The official paper also noted that the Laundries’ remark via their lawyer is “objectively outrageous” leading to the decision that the Petitos’ “causes of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress against the Laundries" was valid. Judge Hunter W Carroll was reportedly referring to the statement issued by Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, during the search for Gabby.

Bertolino had 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.” But Petito family attorney Patrick Reilly accused them in court of giving false hope and causing emotional distress through that statement as the Laundrie family allegedly knew that Gabby was dead.

The court order added: “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. 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. But they did not stay silent.”

After judge Carroll’s announced the decision, Gabby’s family reportedly released a statement that said, “Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, the parents of Gabby Petito, are appreciative of the thorough and well-reasoned decision of Judge Hunter W Carroll which denied the motion of Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie to dismiss the complaint filed against them. This gives them an opportunity to proceed with their claim for the emotional distress caused by the conduct of the Laundries.”

“Joe and Nichole look forward to discovering the information the Laundries knew about Gabby's death and her whereabouts, and in particular getting a copy of any correspondence, emails and texts exchanged during the difficult period when Gabby's whereabouts were unknown. They look forward to going to trial and are confident that ultimately the Laundries will be held accountable. At this time, Joe and Nichole do not wish to discuss this matter publicly and ask that you respect their privacy,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, people have reacted to the ruling on Twitter. A user shared, “Such awesome news!! You deserve justice! My heart still goes out to y’all. But the good that y’all created with the foundation in light of this senseless act(s) shows your calip[b]er! Much love to your family!” Another user wrote, “There no no way to convince me that Brian didn’t tell his parents what happened to Gabby.  In addition his story of what happened to Gabby and his actions doesn’t pass the sniff test.  Too contrived for an experienced hiker.” “What a relief, that feeling you needed for almost a year and the hope that we may just get justice for beautiful Gabby ❤️🦋❤️ and her parents Joseph & Nicole and the whole family. #justiceforGabby,” the third one added.