TW- Gabby Petito case

[AAM2012]

apnews.com/article/search-for-gabby-petito-boyfriend-continues-after-body-found-23e6a2316ac3620965911b43aaea4054

I haven’t seen it discussed here. So so sad, but I hope they find the fiancé and hold him accountable.

I truly can’t understand why the family of her fiancé didn’t call police when he came home without her.

[sofamonkey]

There’s a big discussion on ML about it if you want to check that out.

[pixy0stix]

Bumping - his parents are admitting that he called them.

www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/gabby-petito-lawsuit-brian-laundries-parents-finally-admit-what-their-son-told-them-attorney-says/

[mcsangel2]

Dec 4, 2023 17:46:35 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Bumping - his parents are admitting that he called them.

www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/gabby-petito-lawsuit-brian-laundries-parents-finally-admit-what-their-son-told-them-attorney-says/

WHOA

[lucybrown]

I’m zero surprised. And I’ll be zero surprised if it comes out that they knew a whole lot more.

[whattheheck]

I’m curious as to what the grounds are for the motion to not uphold attorney-client privilege.

[joy]

Dec 5, 2023 7:02:57 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

I’m curious as to what the grounds are for the motion to not uphold attorney-client privilege.

That was my first reaction, too. But the article says they called their family friend lawyer then paid a retainer six days later. Who is the client? The son? Then what the parents said may not be protected.

We need a lawyer to weigh in.

[bears]

Dec 5, 2023 7:37:29 GMT -5 joy said:

Dec 5, 2023 7:02:57 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

I’m curious as to what the grounds are for the motion to not uphold attorney-client privilege.

That was my first reaction, too. But the article says they called their family friend lawyer then paid a retainer six days later. Who is the client? The son? Then what the parents said may not be protected.

We need a lawyer to weigh in.

Like, was it their lawyer or just a friend? We have many trainings at work regarding using legal counsel and my only takeaway on making sure a conversation is privileged is to have the lawyer affirm that it is privileged.


I keep on reading this paragraph and I can't what an idiot Brian was...he wasn't a mastermind, that's for sure.
"Among the messages sent, Brian is believed to have sent a text to Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, about Gabby’s grandfather and referred to him as “Stan.” Schmidt has stated Gabby never called her grandfather by his first name and that the text was highly suspicious."

EDITED to reflect the fact that Gabby's body was found.

[gemini79]

Dec 5, 2023 8:20:41 GMT -5 bears said:

Dec 5, 2023 7:37:29 GMT -5 joy said:

That was my first reaction, too. But the article says they called their family friend lawyer then paid a retainer six days later. Who is the client? The son? Then what the parents said may not be protected.

We need a lawyer to weigh in.

Like, was it their lawyer or just a friend? We have many trainings at work regarding using legal counsel and my only takeaway on making sure a conversation is privileged is to have the lawyer affirm that it is privileged.


I keep on reading this paragraph and I can't believe they haven't figured out where her body is...Brian was no mastermind, that's for sure.
"Among the messages sent, Brian is believed to have sent a text to Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, about Gabby’s grandfather and referred to him as “Stan.” Schmidt has stated Gabby never called her grandfather by his first name and that the text was highly suspicious."

I'm pretty sure they've found her remains and know what happened.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Dec 5, 2023 7:37:29 GMT -5 joy said:

Dec 5, 2023 7:02:57 GMT -5 whattheheck said:

I’m curious as to what the grounds are for the motion to not uphold attorney-client privilege.

That was my first reaction, too. But the article says they called their family friend lawyer then paid a retainer six days later. Who is the client? The son? Then what the parents said may not be protected.

We need a lawyer to weigh in.

So, like most things in the legal area, privilege is pretty fact-specific, but just because you say something to a lawyer doesn't necessarily make it privileged. For example, I'm a lawyer, and if I'm out to dinner with my best friend, our conversation isn't privileged. Now, if it veers into "hey, you're an attorney and i need to know what my options are in this situation" then it may change and that part may be privileged. If it veers into "hey, my kid did this, what should we do" then it may or may not, depending on the situation.

One of the main questions is whether there was an attorney/client relationship here. When they called the family friend lawyer, were they calling for advice on what *they* should do or were they asking how much trouble their kid was in, for example. Were they seeking legal advice or asking more generally what was going to happen? When they signed the retainer agreement, was it for the attorney to represent them, or their son? If it was just to represent their son, then they were likely never the attorney's client, so there was likely never any privilege.

Edit: another possibility is the crime-fraud exception (the one that says you can't use your attorney to help you commit a crime or fraud). That one's probably a stretch, but, for example, if they'd contacted the attorney and asked how to do something illegal, then there would also be no privilege.

So... It depends.

[mcsangel2]

Dec 5, 2023 8:20:41 GMT -5 bears said:

Dec 5, 2023 7:37:29 GMT -5 joy said:

That was my first reaction, too. But the article says they called their family friend lawyer then paid a retainer six days later. Who is the client? The son? Then what the parents said may not be protected.

We need a lawyer to weigh in.

Like, was it their lawyer or just a friend? We have many trainings at work regarding using legal counsel and my only takeaway on making sure a conversation is privileged is to have the lawyer affirm that it is privileged.


I keep on reading this paragraph and I can't believe they haven't figured out where her body is...Brian was no mastermind, that's for sure.
"Among the messages sent, Brian is believed to have sent a text to Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, about Gabby’s grandfather and referred to him as “Stan.” Schmidt has stated Gabby never called her grandfather by his first name and that the text was highly suspicious."

They found Gabby’s body a few days after Brian went missing. For awhile there were rumors he was on the run or had fled the country. His body was found a month later in a nature preserve near his home (took that long because the preserve experienced heavy flooding right after Brian left).

[bears]

Dec 5, 2023 9:44:15 GMT -5 gemini79 said:

Dec 5, 2023 8:20:41 GMT -5 bears said:

Like, was it their lawyer or just a friend? We have many trainings at work regarding using legal counsel and my only takeaway on making sure a conversation is privileged is to have the lawyer affirm that it is privileged.


I keep on reading this paragraph and I can't believe they haven't figured out where her body is...Brian was no mastermind, that's for sure.
"Among the messages sent, Brian is believed to have sent a text to Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, about Gabby’s grandfather and referred to him as “Stan.” Schmidt has stated Gabby never called her grandfather by his first name and that the text was highly suspicious."

I'm pretty sure they've found her remains and know what happened.

Oops. I edited to correct that. 

[AAM2012]

Dec 4, 2023 17:46:35 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Bumping - his parents are admitting that he called them.

www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/gabby-petito-lawsuit-brian-laundries-parents-finally-admit-what-their-son-told-them-attorney-says/

I’m really curious of the outcome of the 12/20 hearing and whether his attorney will be required to disclose what Brian told him..