Kimberly Garrity, who raised Steven II, now 23, and Kathryn, now 20, in a $1.5million home in Illinois, was sued by her own children. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Some children kick up a big tantrum when they’re refused toys or receive the wrong type of birthday card but it doesn’t usually end up like this.
But the siblings, represented by three lawyers including their father, Steven A. Miner, have failed in their $50,000 lawsuit for ‘bad mothering’.
They alleged Garrity failed to take Kathryn to a car show and threatened Steven II with phoning police if he did not buckle his seatbelt.
The children claim she ‘haggled’ over dress prices and called at midnight to tell Kathryn to come home from a party, reported the Chicago Tribune.
But after two years of battle an appeals court has dismissed the ‘emotional distress’ case, ruling Garrity’s conduct was not ‘extreme or outrageous’.
A positive ruling ‘could potentially open the floodgates to subject family childrearing (to) excessive judicial scrutiny and interference,’ it said.
Mr Miner and Garrity were married for around ten years before she filed for divorce 16 years ago, reported the Chicago Tribune.
The birthday card in question was labelled ‘inappropriate’ by Steven II as it allegedly failed to include any money.
It had a picture of indistinguishable tomatoes on a table, apart from one in the centre with googly eyes attached.
The card said: ‘Son I got you this Birthday card because it’s just like you … different from all the rest!’
