UPDATE: Manhattan Aunt Cannot Sue 12-Year-Old Nephew Over Bear Hug, Jury Decides

UPDATE, Wednesday: Jennifer Connell’s lawyers are claiming she had no choice but to sue her nephew, seeing as his parents’ insurance company was refusing to pay for her pricey surgeries. Read more here.

UPDATE, Tuesday: It only took 40 minutes on Tuesday afternoon for a Bridgeport, Conn., jury to dismiss Jennifer Connell’s six-figure lawsuit against her 12-year-old nephew. Connell will not get any money from the boy, the jury reportedly decided. For more on the media stampede outside Bridgeport’s tiny downtown courthouse on Tuesday, read the CTPost’s followup story.

Meet 54-year-old human resources manager Jennifer Connell, giving a bad name to childless aunts all over Manhattan. Connell says her city life has been so gravely impacted by a bear hug her country nephew gave her at his eighth birthday party that she’s decided to sue him for $127,000.

The boy, Sean Tarala, who is now 12 years old, “appeared confused as he sat with his father, Michael Tarala, in the Main Street courtroom” in Bridgeport, Conn., last Friday, according to the CTPost.

As the boy looked on, his aunt explained that while he was a sweet boy, she also wanted his money.

The young boy’s mother, Lisa Tarala, died in June of last year. Her obituary said she would be “sadly missed by her beloved husband Michael, sons Sean and Owen, parents Charlie and Sylvia, and sister Karen.”

Connell’s argument, the CTPost reports, is that her nephew acted unreasonably when he gave her a running bear hug on that day four years ago, shouting “Auntie Jen, Auntie Jen... Auntie Jen, I love you!” as he leaped into her arms and tumbled with her to the ground.

According to the local paper, Connell described the boy as always being “very loving, sensitive” toward her.

Still, she wants justice. Ever since the offending bear hug, Connell argued in court, her childless life as a human resources manager in Manhattan has not been the same.

Some wild moments from the Main Street witness stand, via the CTPost:

Although hurt, Connell said, she didn’t complain to the boy at the time.

“It was his birthday party and I didn’t want to upset him,” she told the jury.

But, Connell continued, her life was turned upside down as a result of the injury.

“I live in Manhattan in a third-floor walk-up so it has been very difficult,” she said. “And we all know how crowded it is in Manhattan.”

And then there is the damage the injury has done to Connell’s social life.

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

A reasonable 8 year old, the lawsuit reportedly claims, “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.”

Read the full story at the CTPost.