Aunt Backed for Threatening Sister With Lawsuit After What Toddler Did

Newsweek

21-04-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
A woman has been backed for threatening to sue her sister after her nephew destroyed her expensive gaming set-up.
The woman, who did not give her name but described herself as a 25-year-old student software developer and "a pretty serious PC gamer in my free time," posts to Reddit under the username u/Ok-Jelly-6298.
On April 11, she took to the r/AmIOverreacting subreddit where she shared her dilemma, asking: "AIO [Am I overreacting] for threatening to take my sister to court after her toddler destroyed my $2,000 gaming setup because she said I should've 'baby-proofed my apartment?"
Tara Tighe Umbrino of TLT Legal Services, PLLC, told Newsweek that, first and foremost, "in most states, legally the woman can sue her sister for the damage caused by her toddler," but warned "litigation should be a last resort."
A stock image shows a toddler pulling an item from a drawer.
A stock image shows a toddler pulling an item from a drawer."It is not a fast or easy process, and you incur court costs when you file. Even if you can file in small claims court—which is often faster, cheaper, and friendlier to people who don't have attorneys—it can still be a stressful process."
Even after a verdict, "it doesn't mean you automatically get paid," she explained. "The defendant has to be willing to pay the judgment, otherwise you have to go through enforcement and collections proceedings which can cost you more money than what you sued over."
The woman explained in her Reddit post that she lives alone in a small one-bedroomed apartment, and recently allowed her sister, 30, and three-year-old nephew, Max, to stay the night while their own home was being fumigated and her sister's husband was away.
The woman was aware Max is "spirited," but said her sister promised to keep a close watch on him. However, within "ten minutes of arriving, he'd pulled four books off my shelf, thrown my houseplants on the floor, and spilled juice on my area rug."
Her sister didn't seem concerned, saying it's "normal" for a three-year-old, and when the woman warned her sister about her extremely expensive computer set-up, she "rolled her eyes" but closed the door to the office.
The next morning, the woman discovered that Max had somehow got inside her office space and destroyed the place, pulling down and cracking monitors, sticking crackers and pouring juice into the PC, pulling the caps from the keyboards and coloring the office chair in permanent marker.
Her sister, upon walking into the room, said simply: "You should've baby-proofed the room if it was that important to you."
They got into an argument, and the sister said the "stuff is replaceable"—but offered only a "few hundred" dollars which she could "maybe" pay in a few months. But the woman, who has filed a claim with her insurance and is not confident it will be covered, told her "if she does not pay up, I'll take her to court for what happened."
Reddit users responded in a big way, awarding the post more than 17,000 upvotes, many backing the woman as one wrote: "NOR [not overreacting]. That kid is a menace, and parents are on the hook financially for whatever their dumb kids do."
Another agreed: "Your sister should have gotten up with her child, be prepared for less sleep for one night as you're doing the favor of providing a space, [and] respected your space as, again, you're providing."
And one, who described herself as a mother of two herself, said the situation was "entirely unacceptable. You cannot expect other people to baby-proof for you. You cannot expect other people to watch your child for you. You cannot expect other people to just be fine with your child destroying their things."
In a later update, the woman said her sister's husband came by to check out the damage and take the PC to be cleaned and fixed, and is hoping to work out an arrangement to pay for the damage done. However, depending how things work out, the woman stated she has not ruled out taking her sister to court.
Holly Davis, founding partner at Kirker Davis LLP, told Newsweek she was "encouraged to hear that the sister's husband is reaching out to her to try and find a solution, because, even though I'm an attorney myself, I regularly encourage people to work together outside of a law office."
She encouraged both parties to "put any feelings of hurt and betrayal aside, be grownups, and simply sit down together and hash out an equitable solution that is genuinely fair to everyone involved—as hard as that might seem at times."
She added: "If both people can present their needs in a simple, clear, and reasonable way, and avoid digging in their heels, there is a potential for a positive and healing outcome, rather than letting this be the beginning of a longstanding family resentment."
Newsweek has contacted u/Ok-Jelly-6298 on Reddit for comment on this story.
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