New trial date set in Petito-Laundrie case for May 2024 after attorney added as defendant
A Sarasota Circuit Court judge on Wednesday set a new trial date in the negligence lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's parents against Brian Laundrie's parents and the family's New York-based attorney, pushing the trial to May 2024.
Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer pushed back the trial date, initially set for August 2023, during a case management hearing.
Attorney Matthew Luka for Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and attorney Charles Meltz for Steve Bertolino appeared in person at the South County Courthouse for the hearing. Attorney Patrick Reilly, representing Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, appeared via video conference.
Keep reading:Lawyers release photos of Gabby Petito's injuries, say police ignored abuse
Dig deeper:Attorney of Brian Laundrie's family files motion to dismiss complaint against him
During the case management hearing, it was decided that Brewer would also hear a motion for a protective order regarding a letter written by Roberta Laundrie to her son on the same day she is set to hear motions to dismiss an amended complaint on May 24.
The Laundries are seeking to have the court protect them from producing a letter written by Roberta Laundrie to her son, Brian Laundrie, which was requested by Gabby Petito's parents.
The defense argued in the motion that the letter had nothing to do with the Gabby Petito's death, but rather it had been written by Roberta Laundrie to reach out to her son during a difficult period in their relationship before he set out for New York and then the 2021 cross-country trip.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, Roberta Laundrie said she used phrases and language which stemmed from hers and Brain Laundrie's love of stories and that parts of the letter were taken out of context. She added the letter was never meant to be read by anyone but her son.
In addition, she wrote the phrase, "Burn After Reading," as a reference to a book Gabby Petito had given Brian Laundrie called, "Burn After Writing."
"In some way, I did not want anyone else to read it as I know it is not the type of letter a mother writes to her adult son, and I did not want to embarrass Brian," she said in the affidavit. "That is why I wrote 'Burn After Reading' on the envelope, and I knew that Brian would know what that meant. I am now appreciative that he actually kept it."
Luka argued that the letter wasn't written or published during the relevant time period alleged in the Second Amended Complaint and therefore couldn't have caused Gabby Petito's parents "emotional distress." He further said that the scope of discovery should be limited to Aug. 27, 2021, and Sept. 21, 2021, the period between Gabby Petito's death and when her body was found near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota judge sets new trial date for Petito-Laundrie case to 2024
