Did you know you can sue your parents for skimping out on your childhood birthday gifts? You can, but you'll probably lose. Two years after Steven and Kathryn Miner, both in their 20s, sued their mother, Kimberly Garrity, for bad parenting during their formative years, the case has been dismissed. The $500,000 lawsuit accused 55-year-old Garrity of causing her adult kids emotional distress.
Their claims about their poor upbringing had more to do with what mom didn't do, than what she did. For starters: she didn't send her son college care packages, or buy her daughter the homecoming dress she wanted. And their birthday cards? No cash or checks, just Hallmark sentiments.
The Chicago Tribune reports Exhibit A in the case was a check-free birthday card for Steven, now 23.
"The card pictured tomatoes on a table with one tomato that had googly eyes. Inside the card read: 'Son I got you this Birthday card because it's just like you...different from all the rest! Have a great day! Love & Hugs, Mom xoxoxo.'"
An Illinois court of appeals judge decided this card, and other evidence of Garrity's proposed "bad mothering", weren't grounds for punishment.
"Such alleged actions are unpleasant and perhaps insensitive, and some would arguably fall outside the realm of 'good mothering,' but they are not so shocking as to form a basis for a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress," said Judge Kathy Flanagan in a court statement, adding that ruling in favor of the children "could potentially open the floodgates to subject family child rearing to ... excessive judicial scrutiny and interference."
The Miners were raised in an affluent Chicago suburb which may account for some lack of understanding of normal privileges outside of their luxury bubble. But there's more to the story than just a couple of spoiled adult kids. One of the Miner siblings' three lawyers is their father, Garrity's ex-husband, also named Steven Miner. When the couple divorced in 1995, the kids moved in with their dad. Garrity's attorney claims the lawsuit was her ex-husband's attempt at the "ultimate revenge"; however, the senior Steven Miner says he tried to talk his kids out the lawsuit before representing them. Other claims against Garrity's mothering ability filed in the case, include threatening to call the police if her son didn't wear his seatbelt and forcing her daughter to come home from a homecoming party at midnight. The most serious accusation claimed Garrity once slapped her son upside the head, causing him what he alleges are chronic headaches, according to ABC News.
The judge called the claims "petty grievances of parental attention or inadequacy."
The Miners were raised in an affluent Chicago suburb which may account for some lack of understanding of normal privileges outside of their luxury bubble.
One of the Miner siblings' three lawyers is their father, Garrity's ex-husband, also named Steven Miner.
Anyone with half a brain could tell this wasn't going to work out in their favor. But the fact that they still went through with it shows they just have less than half a brain. Idiots! Not sure who to feel sorry for here. Probably the mother.
last I checked, if you don't like your parents, you are free to move out and go your own way at 18. I suppose it was the 'luxury bubble' they lived in in the affluent Chicago suburb that kept them from realizing this. I guess the nice house they most likely grew up in, and the probable top-notch schools they went to in said neighborhood, didn't prepare them for the real world and its habit of not pampering them.
"when I started my new job they said I got two week's paid vacation, and I turned around and scheduled two weeks off, and they said I couldn't! They said I have to earn the paid time off before I can actually take it!! The world is so unfair!!! *cry* *cry* *cry*"
(sorry, that's my impression of young people these days... curmudgeon that I am)
What kind of antiquated wind-up browser are you using that can't overcome the use of quotes? I had no trouble.
If you look at your original post does it show up as a hotlink or as the URL? For me it is showing as the address because you had the quotes in there, so I took them out and re-posted as a hotlink for you...
As for the story itself, I think the woman WAS a bad parent - she obviously didn`t beat her kids enough to knock some common sense into them after all.
Duh. I'm a little slow on the uptake, I guess. I originally posted this on another board, then copy/pasted it here. That board uses different software and the link feature puts those quotes in. Didn't even notice it until today.
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by knapplc » Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:25 am 
I had no trouble.
