Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #85

[al66pine]

Bringing Suit to Pinpoint Date of Death?

I kind of wonder if one reason for the lawsuit is actually to try to pinpoint her date of death. That would be a painful question to have no answer to. Jmo.

@TL4S Yes, in their understandable grief, her parents may be looking for an answer to that.

Sorry for not reading or remembering details, but if death date is somehow crucial to parents' healing, seems information from MisPers case files of investigating LE agencies in conjunction w autopsy report might be enlightening. Imo likely more so than answers GP's parents obtain thru civil suit against BL's parents.

If this civil case reaches discovery stages, is it possible in depositions or interrogatories, etc that the L's might give more info about that? Sure, poss.
But accuracy would hinge on four points -
- BL having told his parents the date of death,
- BL having told his parents the actual date,
- one/both L's being willing to disclose the date BL told one/both,
- one/both L's being willing to accurately disclose the date BL told one/both.
How reliable would that be?
Is it poss that even in this civil case, one/both L's may invoke Fifth Amdmt rights?

If this civil case is largely GP's parents quest for GP's death date, I'm not sure if or how it is likely to bring comfort to them. Not trying to dismiss their feelings about importance of date, if that is driving them.
Given the intimate partner death circumstances, I wonder if any relief thru our judicial system can bring family members solace.
So tragic. my2ct

 

[al66pine]

Will Complaint Withstand Motion to Dismiss?

..."their child is dead"? ... The question is did the L's actions add to that pain?... Was the L's behavior an acceptable societal norm?

@Ilex sbm for focus.
OP's questions. As to GP's lawsuit -
Did the L's add to GP's parents pain?
Was L's behavior acceptable societal norm?
If 1 = Yes and 2 = No, those answers do not necessarily plead all the elements of either Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress or Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress.
Those are the tort actions the original pleading kinda, sorta hinted at but did not explicitly state. Maybe w amended pleadings, Judge will not grant defendant's motion to dismiss.
my2ct
_______________________________
* IIED from Cornell Law School affiliated site: Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Also
Intentional infliction of emotional distress - Wikipedia
** NIED. Again from Cornell affiliated site
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
Also
Negligent infliction of emotional distress - Wikipedia

 

[NCWatcher]

I posted earlier I didn't understand NS's claim against BL's estate and I still don't. It didn't make sense (to me) it was about the debit card use or about the few possessions GP likely left in Florida. (How much stuff would a 22-year old minimum wage worker who seemed to like "stylish" clothes and inexpensive silver rings and liked to travel have?) But I just came across this article:

Fight over Brian Laundrie's estate continues

It says the P's are convinced BL's estate is worth more than $20,000. I'm not sure why they care unless they want to file a wrongful death suit against the estate and want there to be lots of money to be able to get.

I'm also not sure what the P's think ought to be there. How would they know? It's possible they are doing this simply to hassle the L's. At this point I would believe that but that makes me sad. Hate eats up the hater faster than it does the hated.

Or it could be Gabby told them something about BL's assets that now aren't there. Personally I wouldn't have expected a 23-year old minimum wage worker who didn't own a house. or a car and who spent time traveling to leave an estate worth more than $20K. (I remember when that figure was first reported many on WS thought it was too high!) There's nothing to suggest BL had a trust fund (and I kind of doubt those can be hidden) but that might be the kind of thing a young woman would brag about to her family.

The article states: "During a probate hearing on Tuesday, Sarasota lawyer Barry Spivey was assigned as curator to Laundrie’s estate."

Not being an attorney I first thought to he person had been appointed to search for hidden assets. But I don't think that's exactly the case. Here is some info on curators in Florida.

What is a Florida Curator? | Florida Probate Lawyers | Pankauski Hauser Lazarus

So the L's still haven't been appointed as personal reps and estate funds will have to be used to pay this guy to administer the estate at least temporarily. Really does sound like the P's goals could be to delay, to cause pain and to keep any assets away from the L's. But the judge went along with it. I have no idea what sort of proof of additional assets NS had to supply. Do any legal folks here know?
JMO

 

[Ilex]

I posted earlier I didn't understand NS's claim against BL's estate and I still don't. It didn't make sense (to me) it was about the debit card use or about the few possessions GP likely left in Florida. (How much stuff would a 22-year old minimum wage worker who seemed to like "stylish" clothes and inexpensive silver rings and liked to travel have?) But I just came across this article:

Fight over Brian Laundrie's estate continues

It says the P's are convinced BL's estate is worth more than $20,000. I'm not sure why they care unless they want to file a wrongful death suit against the estate and want there to be lots of money to be able to get.

I'm also not sure what the P's think ought to be there. How would they know? It's possible they are doing this simply to hassle the L's. At this point I would believe that but that makes me sad. Hate eats up the hater faster than it does the hated.

Or it could be Gabby told them something about BL's assets that now aren't there. Personally I wouldn't have expected a 23-year old minimum wage worker who didn't own a house. or a car and who spent time traveling to leave an estate worth more than $20K. (I remember when that figure was first reported many on WS thought it was too high!) There's nothing to suggest BL had a trust fund (and I kind of doubt those can be hidden) but that might be the kind of thing a young woman would brag about to her family.

The article states: "During a probate hearing on Tuesday, Sarasota lawyer Barry Spivey was assigned as curator to Laundrie’s estate."

Not being an attorney I first thought to he person had been appointed to search for hidden assets. But I don't think that's exactly the case. Here is some info on curators in Florida.

What is a Florida Curator? | Florida Probate Lawyers | Pankauski Hauser Lazarus

So the L's still haven't been appointed as personal reps and estate funds will have to be used to pay this guy to administer the estate at least temporarily. Really does sound like the P's goals could be to delay, to cause pain and to keep any assets away from the L's. But the judge went along with it. I have no idea what sort of proof of additional assets NS had to supply. Do any legal folks here know?
JMO

Gabby's family found out that Brian had an account with 20K in it after the Laundries petitioned the court to become administrators of his estate. The Laundries disclosed that Brian had a Bank of America account with 20K. My guess is Gabby's family questioned how Brian had come into that money and surmised it was part of an account set up to fund Brian after he left the country.
I don't believe the sole purpose of Gabby's family is to hassle or spread hate.
ETA-in order to petition to become admins of his estate, his family had to provide documents of Brian's assets. I believe the curator is set up while the estate goes through probate or while the courts determine who will be the administrator. A curator would have been set up when the Laundries petitioned to be the administrator of Brian's estate, this isn't done because Gabby's parents file this civil suit. "Basically, a curator is a neutral person who temporarily administers a Florida probate estate until a personal representative is appointed. "What Is A Curator In Florida Probate? | Probate Stars

 

[NCWatcher]

Gabby's family found out that Brian had an account with 20K in it after the Laundries petitioned the court to become administrators of his estate. The Laundries disclosed that Brian had a Bank of America account with 20K. My guess is Gabby's family questioned how Brian had come into that money and surmised it was part of an account set up to fund Brian after he left the country.
I don't believe the sole purpose of Gabby's family is to hassle or spread hate.

But according to the article (which could be wrong) the P's are claiming there should be more money than the $20K, not that there should be less.

The P's can think whatever they want, of course, but I'm surprised a judge would agree to hold up appointing a personal representative/adminstrator based on an unrelated person from outside of the family who lives outside of the state saying "I don't think he really had that much money." So that would argue against your hypothesis.

It could be a different matter if the person is saying there should be more money, but clearly there wouldn't be estate taxes owed no matter what. Florida doesn't levy estate taxes at all and federal estate taxes are owed on estates starting at around $12 million. Don't think the L's have hidden that much! And they are the beneficiaries anyway since there was no Will. It's just very odd.

Edited to add because the quoted post was edited: But the L's petitioned to be appointed in Dec. It's now April. And purportedly the estate is worth $20K. Needing a paid curator is highly unusual for such a tiny estate when there's no Will and the next-of-kin are willing to serve. And the news report did say the P's are claiming there should be more money in the estate, not less. I didn't make that up. It's been reported by a Florida news source.

JMO

 

[Ilex]

But according to the article (which could be wrong) the P's are claiming there should be more money than the $20K, not that there should be less.

The P's can think whatever they want, of course, but I'm surprised a judge would agree to hold up appointing a personal representative/adminstrator based on an unrelated person from outside of the family who lives outside of the state saying "I don't think he really had that much money." So that would argue against your hypothesis.

It could be a different matter if the person is saying there should be more money, but clearly there wouldn't be estate taxes owed no matter what. Florida doesn't levy estate taxes at all and federal estate taxes are owed on estates starting at around $12 million. Don't think the L's have hidden that much! And they are the beneficiaries anyway since there was no Will. It's just very odd.

Edited to add because the quoted post was edited: But the L's petitioned to be appointed in Dec. It's now April. And purportedly the estate is worth $20K. Needing a paid curator is highly unusual for such a tiny estate when there's no Will and the next-of-kin are willing to serve. And the news report did say the P's are claiming there should be more money in the estate, not less. I didn't make that up. It's been reported by a Florida news source.

JMO

I'm not saying you made it up, I'm questioning the article. It's common for the courts to set up a curator while an estate is being settled. I think the article is mistaken in combining the civil suit with the probate proceedings. The article states that during a probate hearing a curator was set up, this has nothing to do with the civil suit filed by Gabby's family. The article then goes on to say that that while Brian's estate is claimed to be worth 20k, the Petitos feel there is more. The article may have been using the civil suit as a basis for that claim since the Petitos are asking for more than 20K in their suit. It's a badly written article, IMO.

ETA-just checked the Sarasota county records and it does appear Nicole Schmidt has petitioned to be administrator and she filed some objections. The files themselves are protected so I can't see what exactly she filed. Then the judge appointed a curator on 4/14 and extension of time to file independent action. So it is correct that NS has filed to be the administrator and she did file some objection, but because I can't see the filing I don't know what the substance of her objection is, but it may well have been that she questioned whether there are more assets. ClerkNet 3.0
According to state statute the cost of the curator is 3% of the estate (for estates up to 1million) which would come out to $600. I'm not sure that draining those assets is the goal.
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

 

[Sundog]

But according to the article (which could be wrong) the P's are claiming there should be more money than the $20K, not that there should be less.

The P's can think whatever they want, of course, but I'm surprised a judge would agree to hold up appointing a personal representative/adminstrator based on an unrelated person from outside of the family who lives outside of the state saying "I don't think he really had that much money." So that would argue against your hypothesis.

It could be a different matter if the person is saying there should be more money, but clearly there wouldn't be estate taxes owed no matter what. Florida doesn't levy estate taxes at all and federal estate taxes are owed on estates starting at around $12 million. Don't think the L's have hidden that much! And they are the beneficiaries anyway since there was no Will. It's just very odd.

Edited to add because the quoted post was edited: But the L's petitioned to be appointed in Dec. It's now April. And purportedly the estate is worth $20K. Needing a paid curator is highly unusual for such a tiny estate when there's no Will and the next-of-kin are willing to serve. And the news report did say the P's are claiming there should be more money in the estate, not less. I didn't make that up. It's been reported by a Florida news source.

JMO

I wonder if the P's think that Brian's account may have included some of Gabby's money, that it was a mixed account, informally.

 

[NCWatcher]

I'm not saying you made it up, I'm questioning the article. It's common for the courts to set up a curator while an estate is being settled. I think the article is mistaken in combining the civil suit with the probate proceedings. The article states that during a probate hearing a curator was set up, this has nothing to do with the civil suit filed by Gabby's family. The article then goes on to say that that while Brian's estate is claimed to be worth 20k, the Petitos feel there is more. The article may have been using the civil suit as a basis for that claim since the Petitos are asking for more than 20K in their suit. It's a badly written article, IMO.

Could be. But the Clerk Net site indicates an objection was filed for the appointment of the L's. Of course everything is sealed so we don't know for sure who filed it but that's quite odd. (I'm pretty sure it used to say NS but I can't be 100% sure.) The latest objection was filed on 3/28. The person also petitioned for additional time to file additional docs. NS filed claims on 12/28 and 3/10.

Normally a tiny estate like this one could be opened, administered, and closed in a few months. But only after 4 1/2 months does any administration begin on this one? And it's a paid curator? Very odd.

I don't think this is connected with the civil suit already filed. And I don't think the news article says it is. You made a connection because you think the $20K at BOA was "escape money" and BL trying to escape is part of the civil claim. But why would that matter here? For administering the estate I don't see why the source of BL's assets matter as long as they were his on his estimated DOD.
JMO

 

[Ilex]

I should read before I post.
Okay, NC. Reading further, Nicole filed for Gabby's belongings from Brian's estate, that's what her petition is for. Gabby Petito's mom seeks belongings in fight for Brian Laundrie's '$20k estate'
I couldn't see the filing so I didn't know what it was for. Nicole isn't filing to be administrator of Brian's estate, she's filing to get Gabby's belongings from Brian's estate.

 

[NCWatcher]

I wonder if the P's think that Brian's account may have included some of Gabby's money, that it was a mixed account, informally.

Could be but as just about everybody here said about the CapitalOne account BL accessed, the name on the account is what matters. For that account it didn't matter if some of the money was his. And for BL's BOA account, it shouldn't really matter if some of the money was hers.

I do think they probably mingled money and probably did that with more than one account. But I'm not sure that can be undone for either account now.
JMO

 

[Ilex]

Could be. But the Clerk Net site indicates an objection was filed for the appointment of the L's. Of course everything is sealed so we don't know for sure who filed it but that's quite odd. (I'm pretty sure it used to say NS but I can't be 100% sure.) The latest objection was filed on 3/28. The person also petitioned for additional time to file additional docs. NS filed claims on 12/28 and 3/10.

Normally a tiny estate like this one could be opened, administered, and closed in a few months. But only after 4 1/2 months does any administration begin on this one? And it's a paid curator? Very odd.

I don't think this is connected with the civil suit already filed. And I don't think the news article says it is. You made a connection because you think the $20K at BOA was "escape money" and BL trying to escape is part of the civil claim. But why would that matter here? For administering the estate I don't see why the source of BL's assets matter as long as they were his on his estimated DOD.
JMO

I know I was sitting here scratching my head thinking and questioning why? I wish the docs weren't sealed so we could read them. Oh well, a simple search through the news found the answer. Nicole is filing a petition on Brian's estate for Gabby's belongings.

 

[NCWatcher]

I should read before I post.
Okay, NC. Reading further, Nicole filed for Gabby's belongings from Brian's estate, that's what her petition is for. Gabby Petito's mom seeks belongings in fight for Brian Laundrie's '$20k estate'
I couldn't see the filing so I didn't know what it was for. Nicole isn't filing to be administrator of Brian's estate, she's filing to get Gabby's belongings from Brian's estate.

There are two claims from GP's estate. I'm not talking about those. One from December and one from March. AND there's an objection to the appointment of the L's. I'm pretty sure the info line used to say that was filed by NS but I can't be 100% sure.

Nobody knows what stuff GP left at the L's. The P's have said they don't know. So I'm not sure how that is ever resolved.
JMO

 

[Ilex]

There are two claims from GP's estate. I'm not talking about those. One from December and one from March. AND there's an objection to the appointment of the L's. I'm pretty sure the info line used to say that was filed by NS but I can't be 100% sure.

Nobody knows what stuff GP left at the L's. The P's have said they don't know. So I'm not sure how that is ever resolved.
JMO

Unfortunately I have no idea what the filing in March says, but I'm assuming it has do with her original petition in regards to Gabby's belongings. It does say Nicole on the info line, didn't it? I see her name on a statement of claim on 3/10 and then an objection to claim on 3/15. Somewhere I read that one of the news agencies had gotten the petition, I wonder if it's out there somewhere? It would be easier to actually read it. I'll take a peek around and see if I can find anything. My searching capabilities are hit and miss, so if I can't find it it's probably out there somewhere.

 

[Ilex]

I wonder if the P's think that Brian's account may have included some of Gabby's money, that it was a mixed account, informally.

Could be?

 

[NCWatcher]

Unfortunately I have no idea what the filing in March says, but I'm assuming it has do with her original petition in regards to Gabby's belongings. It does say Nicole on the info line, didn't it? I see her name on a statement of claim on 3/10 and then an objection to claim on 3/15. Somewhere I read that one of the news agencies had gotten the petition, I wonder if it's out there somewhere? It would be easier to actually read it. I'll take a peek around and see if I can find anything. My searching capabilities are hit and miss, so if I can't find it it's probably out there somewhere.

I'll be interested in whatever you find. The objection to claim says NS so that may be an objection she filed or more likely IMO an answer filed to one of her claims. What I'd really like to see though is the one related to the objection to summary administration. I think whatever is in that would tell us why a curator was appointed.

 

[Ilex]

Here is the original petition. The only thing listed as an asset is the 20K Bank of America account.
Laundrie Estate | PDF

 

[Ilex]

I'll be interested in whatever you find. The objection to claim says NS so that may be an objection she filed or more likely IMO an answer filed to one of her claims. What I'd really like to see though is the one related to the objection to summary administration. I think whatever is in that would tell us why a curator was appointed.

I can't find it anywhere. Again, it's probably out there but my searching abilities are dismal.

 

[NCWatcher]

I can't find it anywhere. Again, it's probably out there but my searching abilities are dismal.

Not sure it's your skills. The initial paperwork was available online at the site for he Sarasota County Clerk of Court. (Clerk Net) Sometime later everything related to the estate became "protected." So I'm not sure the 3/25 document objecting to the appointment of administrators is out there. I don't know if the hearings are closed though. My guess is they aren't and that's where the report saying a curator had been appointed came from.

 

[Kristin Esq.]

I'll keep checking for the 1St Amended Complaint. So far, nothing.

 

[Wallendo]

With the trial not scheduled for at least another 16 months, I wonder if both sides will be able to afford to keep this case going that long. I doubt the L's are going to give away much incriminating evidence, so the plaintiff's lawyers will need to spend a lot of hours searching through phone records to find a "smoking gun". Unless the L's give the case away, there will need to be some evidence that the L's knew Gabby was dead and that the L's tried to arrange for Brian to flee the country. Otherwise they may well face a counter-suit for slander. Since BL and GP are both dead, and the L's have no incentive to provide incriminating evidence, there needs to be some third party witness or evidence.

Hopefully at some point, whatever evidence the lawyers claim to have will be made known.