An attempted lawsuit out of Illinois involving two adults and their mother is taking the phrase "spoiled little rich kid" to a whole new level.
Steven Miner, 23, and Kathryn Miner, 20, with the help of their father, attorney Steven A. Miner, brought a suit in 2009, seeking more than $50,000 from their mother, Kimberly Garrity, for "emotional distress."
The case reached an Illinois appeals court last week, where the case was dismissed. The court did not find any of the mother's conduct in question to be "extreme or outrageous."
Not so, say the poor, distressed victims of this alleged child abuse. Well, poor does not qualify as a proper adjective, considering they grew up in a $1.5-million home.
But, surely, they must have been quite "distressed" by their mother's actions.
What sort of mother tells her son to buckle his seatbelt when he is 7 years old? Or calls her daughter to tell her to come home after staying out past midnight celebrating homecoming?
The horror!
The most bizarre complaint from the male plaintiff concerns an "inappropriate" birthday card he received from his horrible mother.
It was inappropriate for two reasons. First, the card featured a grotesque picture of tomatoes with a special one that had been mutilated with craft-store googly eyes. The inside of the card explained how the son was "different from all the rest."
How dare his mother call him special?
Second, the card failed to have any money in it. Again, poor, poor children.
The appeals court rightly found that ruling in favor of the children "could potentially open the floodgates to subject family child-rearing to ... excessive judicial scrutiny and interference."
In other words, every little Billy and Sarah could potentially bring suit against one of their parents if they failed to buy them that candy bar for which they pined.
This could be made even worse for children of divorced parents, especially if those parents hold a grudge against one another. The children could become tools of revenge.
What this case really shows is a lack of respect by the children, who are supposedly educated adults, and the father for the improper use of our judicial system.
The courts should be reserved for people who have been seriously harmed, whether it be by a criminal or civil act. These petty lawsuits are ruining the credibility of our judicial system while clogging up the courts for people who actually need them.
A lawsuit like this is a costly endeavor, especially for the defendant. Imagine if the plaintiffs who brought zany suits like these had to pay the defendants for all costs incurred if they lose the suit.
These children are spoiled little brats who used their father's counsel and ill-feelings toward their mother to make a mockery of our judicial system.
