Gabby Petito case: Utah judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit filed by parents against Moab police

A judge in Utah dismissed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Gabby Petito’s parents against the Moab city police department, which claimed police failed to protect their daughter from her fiancée during a videotaped traffic stop just weeks before authorities said she was her fiancee. killed him.

Judge Don M. Torgerson of the Seventh Judicial District Court in Grand County, Utah, dismissed the case Monday, but no written order has yet been issued, court spokeswoman Tania Mashburn said Thursday.

Steven Jensen, an attorney for Petito’s family, said Thursday that the judge cited the Utah Government Immunity Act, which protects police officers from claims of negligence when acting in their official capacity.

Jensen said his legal team is preparing for an appeal.

“Our contention is that the special statute granting immunity to police officers is unconstitutional because the Utah constitution prohibits limiting someone’s right to bring a wrongful death claim,” said Jensen, of Parker & McConkie in Midvale, Utah.

Petito’s parents — Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito — filed a lawsuit against the Moab Police Department and several officers in 2022, seeking $50 million.

Petito’s parents said in a statement released Thursday by their attorneys: “While today’s decision feels like a setback, it was not unexpected. We never expected this would be an easy process, and we look forward to the Utah Supreme Court confirming the decision.” “The primary purpose of the Utah Constitution is to protect the right to compensation for wrongful death claims under these circumstances.”

Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old Blue Point native traveling across the country with her fiance, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, when they were pulled over by Moab police after receiving a 911 call reporting a man slapping a woman.

Body camera footage obtained by Newsday and other news organizations showed responding officers during a traffic stop near Arches National Park on Aug. 12, 2021, speaking extensively with Petito, who was crying at times.

Petito told police that Laundrie grabbed his face, leaving a cut on his cheek, according to body camera footage. Police did not make any arrests but ultimately deemed him the attacker and instructed them to spend the night separately.

“The police investigation was deeply flawed. Despite the witness report,
Officers treated Brian as if he were the victim of domestic abuse rather than the perpetrator,” the lawsuit states. “They failed to notice or otherwise detect obvious signs that clearly indicated Gabby was the victim of domestic abuse.”

Petito, who left Long Island with Laundrie in his white van for the West Coast in July 2021, documented their travels on social media. His family last contacted him in late August of that year.

Laundrie returned home to Florida on September 1, 2021, and refused to talk to law enforcement or Petito’s family about her fiancée’s whereabouts. His body was found Sept. 19 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The local medical examiner ruled that the woman died from manual strangulation and blunt force injuries to the head and neck.

Laundrie died by suicide. The FBI said Laundrie admitted to killing Petito in a notebook he found after his death.

Nicole Fuller is Newsday’s senior criminal justice reporter. He started working at Newsday in 2012 and previously worked in local government.