Oct 132015
 

Let me preface this by saying that, despite all appearances, this is not – NOT – snark!

Just in case it slipped under your radar, no doubt you’ll want to learn about Jennifer Connell.  She’s an HR manager who lives in Manhattan who sued her now 12 y/o nephew for $127,000 for an “exuberant hug” he gave her at his Birthday party when he turned 8 y/o.

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The defendant, Sean Tarala, had just gotten his first two-wheeler as a Birthday present, and was excitedly riding around when Aunt Jen arrived to share in the festivities.  From testimony at trial, when Sean spotted Connell, the excited boy dropped the brand new bicycle to the ground, exclaiming, “Auntie Jen, Auntie Jen.”

JENNIFER CONNELL TESTIMONY at TRIAL:

“All of a sudden he was there in the air, 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.”

She did suffer a broken wrist in the fall, but she told the jury she didn’t say anything at the time because “It was his birthday party and I didn’t want to upset him.” 

But later, she apparently had some serious second thoughts – at least according to the pleadings of her lawsuit:

“The injuries, losses and harms to the plaintiff were caused by the negligence and carelessness of the minor defendant in that a reasonable eight years old under those circumstances would know or should have known that a forceful greeting such as the one delivered by the defendant to the plaintiff could cause the harms and losses suffered by the plaintiff.”

And to buttress her request for $127,000 in damages, according to her testimony, it has severely hampered her social life:

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

Fortunately the six-member Superior Court jury found that Sean was not liable.  AND it took them only 20 minutes to reach a verdict!

Auntie Jen gets ZERO!

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To add another layer of sorrow, Sean’s Mother passed away last year – but she was aware of the lawsuit which had already been filed.  He was in court with his father, Michael Tarala, for the trial, and “appeared confused,” according to the Connecticut Post.

Perhaps wisely, Jen Connell “pleaded with judicial marshals to escort her to her car through a throng of media waiting outside the Main Street courthouse.”

… “I remember him shouting, ‘Auntie Jen I love you!’

It’s probably a safe bet that Auntie Jen will never hear those words again from Sean.

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  18 Responses to “What Kind of Person Would Even THINK of Doing This?”

  1. Given that restitution and fines for minors are usually the parents' liability, it seems like there may have been extra family issues among or between the adults and the nephew became the vehicle for the next phase in it and collateral damage…sad.

    • There's no making sense of this one,to my mind.  I personally think Jen has some major issues, mental health-wise.

      But from a practical point of view, the nephew was named as the  SOLE defendant.  If she were really in need of the money I have no idea why her lawyer wouldn't add the parents to the suit.  They gave the address in one of the articles, and it's a very nice house … in a very expensive area.

      It's just sad … very, very sad.

      • Weird…if they weren't in sight when it happened, an attorney might have told her to leave them off…but there does seem like some key part of the story is missing somehow that explains it.

  2. JL, thanks for posting!  Nameless, I can't even begin to answer your question.  I'm not sure there are words enough in ANY language on earth to quite describe this – I suppose we have to call her a human being (any animal epithet is far too good for her).

  3. How stupid is that bitch? She sues her nephew for giving her a hug??? Why???? Her sister went to her grave knowing that she had sued her for A HUG??? Preposterous!

  4. This was on tv at the doctor's office where I took my mother today.  It left me speechless.  This woman needs serious mental health counseling.

  5. Serious mental health issues, and maybe Republican!  Thank goodness that the justices were intelligent and compassionate.

  6. I'm sorry to put this out here again, but seen from this side of the pond this is just another excess of American culture: the suing industry. Of course the claim was both utterly ridiculous and heartless. This women must have had a lot of issues going to hold a child and his family hostage for almost four years on such a frivolous thing, but my point is that lawyers and judges went along with it, a jury had to donate their time to it and precious time and thousands of dollars have been wasted on yet another ill-advised case to sue.

    This business of suing has really gone out of hand decades ago and has become meaningless, devoid of any real connection to justice or compensation. Mostly it is about money and greed, the more the better, often divorced from any real damage done.

  7. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she thought this was a path to some free cash through the parents homeowner's insurance, but then she really should have included them.  None of which would have made this palatable.  I'm sorry about her wrist but I am sure she won't have to face that horror again as who would ever invite her?

    • The child would have been covered by the homeowners insurance policy although he would probably needed help to file the claim.  But he is a member of the family and he lives there – those are the usual criteria.

      But, not knowing the company (or even if I did, having been out of the field a few years) I don't know how much effect a homeowners liability claim would have had on the father's (since the mother passed away) future premiums, or even his insurability.  It's not iimpossible the suit was designed to keep the homeowners' company out of the mix for the family's ultimate benefit.

      Also, to answer Nameless' question which I couldn't answer when I first posted (What kind of person would even THINK of doing this) – a health imsurance professional, that's who.

  8. She's a greedy witch and I'm glad she lost.

  9. This was stupid & her lawyers were charlitans. (1) She COULD have turned in the injury to the boy's Home Insurance at the time it happened (or as soon after as she realized it was "serious"), (2) in Illinois you have to file a personal injury suit within 2 years of the time it happened – why was she even Allowed to file 4 years later? Or did it just take that long for it to go to court..WHY was it not thrown out on principle alone? 😉

  10. Just passing through, I had to mention that it was the INSURANCE COMPANY who is to blame for the suit. The aunt's insurance wouldn't pay for here injury and demanded that she sue the nephew. This is not the aunt's fault. She was pressured (required) by the health insurance company to sue for the amount they paid out. It's a bit different from what was originally reported.

  11. I doubt very seriously that 'Auntie Jen' will get any invites anytime soon. If she does this to family, imagine how she'd be if she invited to a party. She needs help and counseling.

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