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Money Hungry Aunt Sues Preteen Nephew For Over $100,000 After Hug Goes Wrong

Emma Colton Deputy Editor
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A New York woman filed a lawsuit against her 12-year-old nephew after he excitedly hugged her on his birthday four years ago.

Sean Tarala was only eight-years-old when he leaped into the arms of his aunt, Jennifer Connell. The woman, according to the New York Daily News, broke her wrist as result of the tyke’s hug. Now, four years after the injury, she filed a suit seeking $127,000 in damages from the preteen.

On Friday, Connell contended in court the lawsuit is warranted because her life was drastically changed by the 2011 injury, and even causes further suffering years later.

“I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walkup so it has been very difficult,” Connell said at the Bridgeport, Connecticut Superior Court. “And we all know how crowded it is in Manhattan.”

The woman, however, said in court she still loves her nephew — who is the only defendant in the case — but later testified she needs to win the case because the injury is so severe she even has difficulty enjoying her social life.

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

The New York Daily News reported that the 2011 injury happened at Tarala’s eighth birthday party in Connecticut. The boy was playing outside on a new bike when he saw his aunt, dropped his bicycle and ran toward her, gleefully shouting, “Auntie Jen, Auntie Jen.”

“All of a sudden he was there in the air, I had to catch him and we tumbled onto the ground,” Connell said in court, according to CTPost.com. “I remember him shouting, ‘Auntie Jen I love you,’ and there he was flying at me.”

Connell did not complain about the injury during the party, only addressing it now, four years later. (RELATED: 15 Rally-Goers Slapped With Terror Charges For Flying Confederate Flag [VIDEO])

Tarala was accompanied by only his father in court, as his mother died last year, according to the New York Daily News. The boy was reportedly acting “confused” while sitting in the court room, and did not give comments to any news outlets.

The case did not receive a ruling on Friday.

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