Aunt Jennifer Connell Gets Nothing After Suing Nephew Sean Tarala For 'Unreasonable' Hug

A Woman Who Sued Her 12-Year-Old Nephew For An 'Unreasonable Hug' Will Receive Nothing

A woman who filed a lawsuit against her 12-year-old nephew for an "unreasonable hug" will receive nothing in damages.

Jennifer Connell complained she found it "difficult to hold my hors d'oeuvre plate" at events after breaking her wrist four years ago when Sean Tarala jumped into her arms at his birthday party.

The lawsuit asked the jury to find the boy had acted "unreasonably".

Jennifer Connell

Instead it took them just 20 minutes to dismiss her claim for $127,000 (£83,000) in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The incident in question resulted her falling to the ground causing an injury she claimed had plagued her ever since.

She said: "I had to catch him and we tumbled onto the ground.

"I remember him shouting, 'Auntie Jen, I love you,' and there he was flying at me.

"I was at a party recently and it was difficult to hold my hors d’oeuvre plate.

She added: "“I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walk-up, so it has been very difficult. And we all know how crowded it is in Manhattan."

According to local reports, Sean - whose mother died last year - was in court "looking confused" .

Nora Freeman Engstrom, a professor at Stanford Law School, told the BBC: "The general rule is: As long as a child is not engaged in an adult activity (and hugging certainly does not qualify), a child must only exercise the care that a reasonable child of the child's actual age, intelligence, and experience would exercise."

A juror told the New York Daily news: "We just couldn't find him, you know, liable for what happened."

Connell has been torn apart on social media over the incident.

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