A woman who sued her 12-year-old nephew over a birthday hug that left her with a broken wrist has been awarded zero damages by a Connecticut jury.
The aunt, Jennifer Connell, claimed her nephew acted unreasonably when his exuberant greeting caused her to fall and break her wrist in 2011, the Westport News reported from the courthouse on Monday.
He had been riding his first two-wheeled bicycle – which was bright red, according to testimony – around his home. When Connell arrived, he dropped it and ran to her. “I remember him shouting, ‘Auntie Jen, I love you!’ and there he was flying at me,” Connell is quoted as saying in court.
The aunt, who was seeking $127,000 in damages, told the court that she had found it “difficult to hold my hors d’oeuvre plate” at a recent party.
The jury members reportedly took just 25 minutes to come to their decision, according to the New York Daily News.
“We do not take great pleasure in bringing a minor to court,” the aunt’s lawyer, William Beckert, said, according to the Daily News. “She is not here enjoying a moment of this.”
But the nephew, who was eight at the time of the hug, “should have known better”.
“We have rules for children,” the lawyer continued. “He was not careful. He was unsafe.”
