Gabby Petito's Mother Files Lawsuit Against Estate of Brian Laundrie, Seeks $30,000 in Damages

Nichole Schmidt, Gabby Petito's mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the curator of the estate of Brian Laundrie in Florida.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday and obtained by Fox News, states Schmidt and her husband Joseph Petito "incurred funeral and burial expenses, and they have suffered a loss of care and comfort, and suffered a loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort" after Lauderie allegedly killed their daughter.

Schmidt is seeking $30,000 in damages and demands a trial by jury and judgment for compensatory damages.

Steven Bertolino, Laudrie's family attorney, told TMZ in a statement that the filing was expected.

"The Petitos will have gained nothing more than a piece of paper that tells them what everyone already knows –– which is that Brian was responsible for Gabby's death as indicated by the FBI," he told the outlet.

Bertolino did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.

News of the new lawsuit comes after Schmidt and Petito filed an amended civil suit against Brian Laundrie's parents last week. They allege that Christopher and Roberta Laundrie knew the whereabouts of Gabby's body as authorities poured resources into a massive missing person investigation.

The amended lawsuit seeks $30,000 in damages for the mental anguish they suffered due to the alleged deceit of the Laundries. It expands on a March filing that claimed Christopher and Roberta helped Brian conceal Gabby's murder and were making plans for him to flee the country.

The suit also claims that instead of helping Petito's parents locate their daughter, the Laundries went on vacation with Brian and ignored pleas for help from the family.

"Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community," the filing, which was obtained by PEOPLE, reads.

If Schmidt and Petito's claims are true, they put into question the clueless narrative that the Laundries put out during the investigation.

On Sept. 14, before Gabby's body was recovered, the Laundrie family released a statement through their lawyer that said: "It is our understanding that a search has been organized for Miss Petito in or near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. 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."

The lawsuit responds to that statement saying, "For the Laundries to express their 'hope' that Gabrielle Petito was located and reunited with her family, at a time when they knew she had been murdered by their son, was beyond outrageous."

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In September, Gabby's body was located in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. A medical examiner determined she died by homicidal strangulation. Brian, who vanished around the same time amid nationwide calls for his arrest, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Florida wilderness in October.

After a months-long criminal investigation into Gabby's disappearance and — later — murder, the FBI determined in January that Brian was responsible for her death, stating that he had written a confession in his notebook before he took his life.