MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — The family of murder victim Gabby Petito is asking a Utah court to end the state’s immunity for police officers as they attempt to move forward with a $50 million lawsuit against the Moab Police Department.

The Petitos and attorneys for the City of Moab are expected to be in court Tuesday morning, Nov. 20, as the city is also asking the court to dismiss the Petitos’ case under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act of Utah (GIAU). That act protects some governmental bodies and employees from liability in certain cases.

Gabby Petito, 22, was a YouTuber murdered by her fiance Brian Laundrie in Wyoming in August 2021. Laundrie, after admitting to the murder, took his own life the following month in Florida. Shortly before her death, Petito and Laundrie were the subject of a domestic violence complaint in Moab when eyewitnesses reported a fight between the two. Petito’s family has since filed a $50 million suit against officers from the Moab Police Department, accusing them of not taking Laundrie seriously as an abuser during that complaint and letting the pair continue to Wyoming.

According to a statement from the Petito family’s attorneys, Gabby’s father Joseph Petito and mother Nichole Schmidt are asking the court to declare the GIAU unconstitutional. They claim they have evidence showing Utah’s founders had not intended government institutions to be immune from prosecution. By doing so, they said the court would be “return[ing] Utah law to its original understanding and restore to those within this state the protections intended by Utah`s founders.”

“We remain undeterred in our commitment to seek justice for Gabby, accountability for Moab and change that will help protect other victims of domestic violence,” read a statement from Gabby’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt. “We are confident that the Utah Constitution preserves the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances and trust that Utah courts will ultimately uphold that right. We express gratitude to the many people around the country who have continued to support us in our fight for Gabby.”

Attorney Mitchell Stephens, who is representing the City of Moab in the case, said the Petitos attorneys have already argued in court that their own lawsuit cannot proceed due to the GIAU. Stephens quoted Petito attorney James Burton from the 7th District Court hearing on Nov. 13 as saying: “We’ve said look, we recognize the Utah Supreme Court has said this lawsuit can’t proceed, but we’re filing it with the intent that upon dismissal we’ll appeal it to the Utah Supreme Court and ask for a change in the law.”

Stephens said his clients agree with Burton’s statement.

“Moab’s police department did not cause Gabby’s engagement to Brian, her decision to remain with him, her decision to continue driving to Wyoming with him, or Brian’s criminal actions more than a month after they left Moab and more than 400 miles away from Moab,” Stephens told ABC4.com. “Not every tragedy can support a lawsuit.”

In Feb. 2024, the family reached an agreement with the parents of Brian Laundrie in Tampa Bay, Fla., that ended a civil case against them for “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The outcome of that agreement was kept confidential.