New York City resident, Jennifer Connell, became internet infamous yesterday when her case suing her young nephew for $127,000 in damages for her broken wrist - which she alleges was caused when he hugged her and she fell over - went public. And while the verdict came back just hours later, finding in favor the defendant, Connell’s now 12 year old nephew, the outrage over the case is still brewing. The response from the Savvy Auntourage was disgust and disappointment in one of “ours.”

The Savvy Auntourage found Jennifer Connell guilty of hurting her nephew by taking him to court to sue him for being so excited to see her, shouting "Aunt Jen! Aunt Jen!" when she arrived for his 8th birthday, jumping on her for joy. Their unanimous verdict was also supported by the fact that the boy's mother died a year ago, and he probably could have used the love and support of his "Aunt Jen" more than ever.

I posted my regret over the circumstances, never having believed that an aunt would sue her nephew for a hug that resulted in her broken wrist.

And while I still cannot condone what happened, Connell’s attorney’s argued in a statement released to NBC Connecticut, that she had no choice. She had to sue her nephew in order to get paid by her insurance company for the cost of two surgeries to repair her wrist. "Prior to the trial, the insurance company offered her one dollar. Unfortunately, due to Connecticut law, the homeowner’s insurance company could not be identified as the defendant," the law firm Jainchill and Beckert said on behalf of Connell. "Our client was never looking for money from her nephew or his family. It was about the insurance industry and being forced to sue to get medical bills paid."

Reported on TODAY, Connell's lawfirm added: “She didn’t want to do this any more than anyone else would. But her hand was forced by the insurance company. We are disappointed in the outcome, but we understand the verdict. Our client is being attacked on social media. Our client has been through enough.”

"Aunt Jen" has been through a lot, and I don't want to add to what must be a traumatic turn of events for her. Still, I have to state that I would never take my nephew to court, no matter the circumstances. And this nephew loves his aunt. In fact, he jumped in her arms on his eighth birthday, shouting “Auntie Jen! Auntie Jen!” because he was so happy to see her. He did not intend to hurt her.

Some Savvy Aunties asked for her “aunt” badge back. Some used non-PG language to express their disdain for this aunt. Even I used the hashtag #UnSavvyAuntie several times. And the hashtag making the rounds on social media was #WorstAuntEver.

"Aunt Jen" is not the best aunt ever, that’s for sure. Putting a boy through this is not worth the damages she was hoping for. Instead, it created more damage than she, or presumably her attorneys, were expecting.

Let’s change the conversation, and use the hashtags #BestAuntEver #SavvyAuntie to share stories about the aunts who are going above and beyond – or just doing the simple thing of loving her nieces and nephews unconditionally. And by the way, don’t be shy to include yourself. Even if you’ve made mistakes, or don’t feel like you see the children you love as much as you like, or can’t afford to give them all the things they want, or just want to keep doing better as a woman of influence in their lives, know that to those children, you are indeed the #BestAuntEver.

Photo: iqoncept
Published: October 14, 2015