TAMPA, FLORIDA: Attorney Matthew Luka, who had been working for Brian Laundrie's parents - Chris and Roberta Laundrie - has declared that he will no longer represent them ahead of the Gabby Petito trial.
Luka said that he had to transfer the case to someone else as he accepted a new position at another law company. In his place, Ryan Gilbert will take over, per WFLA.
JB Biunno, a reporter at the local NBC station WFLA, tweeted that Luka remarked, "The Laundries are good people, and it was my pleasure to work with them."
Luka referred to Gilbert when questioned about who he believed would win the case. The trial for the Petito lawsuit is scheduled for May.
"I wish the Laundries all the best and have always believed in their case, but I’ll leave that for Mr Gilbert to answer after he has had a chance to complete discovery," Luka remarked.
Netizens react to Matthew Luka's sudden exit from Gabby Petito trial
However, online users were not pleased with Luka's sudden announcement of not representing Laundrie's parents.
One X (formerly Twitter) user speculated, "Interesting that the #Laundrie's attorney has said farewell to the Laudrie's case at such a critical time. Their attorney has changed law firms. Often, a client will follow their attorney when they change law firms. There is more to the story."
A second X user asserted the speculation and wrote, "On over his head. They were contracted with the firm and Im sure he had a no compete contract."
"Maybe they ran out of money and he said, "See you later, losers!" Kinda like Bobby did," snarked another X user.
One user provided a justification and wrote, "Clients are often clients of “the firm”, for contractual reasons, not the attorney individually, many firms/Agencies across many disciplines have a Non-Compete Clause which includes that Firm/Agency retains the client should Attorney separate from the firm/Agency."
Gabby Petito's parents' lawsuit against Chris and Roberta Laundrie
During an unfortunate four-month cross-country road trip in 2021, Brian fatally killed Petito in Utah. Brian returned to his parents' house in Florida after the murder on August 28, 2021.
Later, Petito's parents filed a lawsuit against Chris and Roberta for allegedly causing them severe anguish and the case is scheduled to go to trial in May 2024, per The Sun.
According to the complaint acquired by local CBS affiliate WTSP, "(They) knew that they could prevent such additional mental suffering and anguish... by disclosing what they knew about the well-being and location of the remains of Gabrielle Petito, yet they repeatedly refused to do so."
They are requesting more than $30,000 in compensation.
In order to end a different wrongful death litigation, Chris and Roberta landed a $3 million settlement with Petito's family in 2022.
The Laundries have not been subject to any legal action.
Another wrongful death case filed by Petito's family in Utah seeks $50 million in damages from the police.
The victim's parents contend that police officers from Moab City neglected to shield their daughter from Brian at a traffic stop right before the murder.
