Jury slaps down lawsuit filed by woman against nephew over hug

A Connecticut jury on Tuesday slapped down a lawsuit filed by a New York woman who sued her 12-year-old nephew for injuries she contends resulted from the boy's "exuberant" greeting at a party on his eighth birthday.

The six-member jury deliberated for less than half an hour in Superior Court in Bridgeport on whether to find the Westport boy responsible for breaking his aunt's wrist when he jumped into her arms during his birthday party four years ago, a court clerk said after the verdict. She had sought $127,000 in damages.

Jennifer Connell, 54, had testified that while her nephew, Sean Tarala was a "loving and sensitive," 8-year-old, when he leaped into her arms yelling "Auntie Jen," on March 18, 2011, the boy "acted unreasonably" causing her to fall to the ground and break her wrist.

Connell, a human resources manager from New York City, testified that while she loves her nephew, "he should be held accountable."

She said when the child jumped on her they fell to the ground as she tried to catch him.

Connell testified that her injury has made it difficult to walk up the stairs in her Manhattan apartment building, and that her social life has been negatively impacted.

"The injuries, losses and harm to the plaintiff were caused by the negligence and carelessness of the minor defendant in that a reasonable eight year old under those circumstances would know or should have known that a forceful greeting such as the one delivered by the defendant could cause the harms and losses suffered by the plaintiff," she said in her lawsuit.

The boy's mother died last year, and his father, Michael Tarala, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.