New York boy says he loves aunt who sued for broken wrist

A 12-year-old boy who was sued by his aunt for $127,000 over a broken wrist she suffered when he jumped into her arms at his birthday party four years ago said in a joint televised interview on Thursday that "I love her and she loves me."

A Bridgeport, Connecticut, jury on Tuesday rejected 54-year-old Jennifer Connell's claim that her nephew Sean Tarala owed her compensation for her injury at his eighth birthday party in March 2011. Many people took to social media to deride Connell's lawsuit.

"She would never do anything to hurt the family or myself," Tarala told NBC's Today show.

Connell said the matter was a misunderstanding and that she had to name the boy in a lawsuit intended to ensure that insurance covered her treatment.

"This was simply a case of formality with an insurance claim," Connell said. "I said at the start of this, 'I don't understand why. I don't want to sue Sean.'"

Connell testified that when the boy jumped on her they fell to the ground as she tried to catch him. She testified that the 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 boy's mother died last year.