Cousin’s Reason for Suing Family’s ‘Golden Child’ for $6K Splits Views

An internet user has divided opinion among their family after taking their cousin to court over financial damages, but readers backed their decision.

In a now-viral Reddit post, user u/aitahearingaides wrote that they were suing their 25-year-old cousin for a $6,000 pair of hearing aids.” The damage occurred during a family birthday party during which the cousin threw the Reddit user “in the pool because it would be funny.”

However, this was no joke for the poster, and they wrote online that they repeatedly told him to stop “in a very serious and not playful” tone of voice. The damage was done, though, as soon as the hearing aids were submerged in the water.

The post reads: “He threw me in the pool, and my hearing aides were ruined. Afterwards, when I told him what happened he basically said whoops, didn’t know you had hearing aids now. When I told him the cost of them and that he would have to replace them, he freaked out and said no way.”

The Reddit poster stood their ground and said “the golden child” should pay to replace the hearing aids, despite being in college and “barely making ends meet.” He lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his girlfriend, who is expecting a baby, and the wider family backed his side of events.

The rest of the family felt it was unfair of the poster to take the cousin to court over the damages, but they pursued legal action anyway and won.

“He refused to make the payments after, so I took him back to court and his wages are now being garnished for the maximum amount, which is 20 percent of his total wages. It pushed him over the edge of what he could afford, so he’s had to work extra and drop out of college to be able to pay their rent,” the post continued.

Taking legal action against family certainly isn’t an easy decision, but Alfred Polizzotto, the managing partner of law firm of Polizzotto & Polizzotto, LLC in Brooklyn, New York, told Newsweek that it is often “the last resort.” In many instances, people try mediation and interventions first. However, if that leads to nothing, they feel “they have no choice” but to escalate it to court.

“In this case, the person tried talking to their cousin about the hearing aids, but nothing changed. When someone causes you big money problems, going to court can be the only way to get help,” Polizzotto said.

The cousin’s claim that he didn’t realize the poster wore hearing aids probably wouldn’t hold much weight in court, according to Polizzotto. As the poster clearly told him to stop and he didn’t, he is ultimately responsible for his actions.

“Legal responsibility hinges on whether a person acted reasonably under the circumstances. In this case, the injured party communicated their concerns clearly, so the cousin’s lack of awareness does not absolve him of responsibility for his actions,” Polizzotto said.

“If he’s lucky, then his claim might evoke some sympathy, but it is unlikely to change the fundamental legal obligations he has toward his cousin,” Polizzotto added.

How Did the Internet React?

The whole ordeal has left the poster’s family “absolutely fuming,” but the Reddit user said that the matter didn’t have to end this way. The cousin still hasn’t given “a sincere apology” or asked if there was a way to pay for the damages at a better time.

So, the poster sought advice on Reddit by sharing the debacle in a post on September 25, asking if they were in the wrong. Needless to say, with over 57,000 votes and more than 12,000 comments already, internet users have resoundingly backed the decision to sue the cousin.

One response to the post reads: “He literally threw you in a pool after you told him not to. Like, it’s not just some prank when it ruins $6K worth of hearing aids. Yeah, it sucks that his life got harder, but that’s not your fault—it’s his for not taking responsibility.”

Another person wrote: “Imagine if he had a $1K+ phone that you threw in the pool and destroyed. I wonder if he’d be happy about that?”

A third Reddit user added: “He had THREE CHANCES to get it right. He could have stopped throwing her in the pool. He could have paid without the lawsuit. He could have paid after the lawsuit. If he’s being garnished now, he earned it fair and square.”

Newsweek reached out to u/aitahearingaides via Reddit for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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