‘Worst aunt ever’ defends her lawsuit against nephew

Jennifer Connell made an appearance on the Today show Thursday after she became public enemy number one earlier this week when she tried to sue her 12-year-old nephew for $127,000 over an energetic hug that led to a broken wrist.

Connell , dubbed “Auntie Christ” by the New York Daily News and the “worst aunt ever” on Twitter, had her case dismissed by a Connecticut judge in just over 20 minutes on Tuesday.

The details of the case sparked outraged on social media this week especially over a statement she made from the witness stand where she described difficulties “holding a tray of hors d’oeuvres” at a recent Manhattan party.  The language in the suit, which called the hug from Sean, delivered when Connell  visit on his eighth birthday, “negligent” and “careless.”

READ MORE: Jury quickly dismisses woman’s lawsuit against 12-year-old nephew

Speaking on the Today show, Connell appeared alongside her nephew Sean Tarala, now 12, to talk about the lawsuit and resulting media attention.

“She’d never do anything to hurt the family or myself,” Tarala said speaking about the accident from four years ago. “I love her and she loves me.”

Connell, 54, blamed Connecticut’s insurance laws that required her to name her nephew to receive the homeowner’s insurance coverage.

“I’m no legal expert but as I understand it, in Connecticut, it’s not possible to name an insurance company in a suit of a homeowners insurance case,” Connell explained to host Savannah Guthrie. “An individual has to be named, and in this case, because Sean and I had this fall together, I was informed that Sean had to be named. I was never comfortable with that.”

The director of the insurance law center at the University of Connecticut told The Guardian it was “absolutely” possible to file this type of suit to trigger insurance coverage.

“You can sue another person even if you’re not angry at them if they’ve been negligent, under the idea that they have insurance to cover negligent acts,” Brendan Maher said. “By suing them, you’re triggering coverage that you’re entitled to as a victim.”

Connell said she was shocked by the ensuing media attention and interest from the public

“It was amazing how I walked into court that morning and walked out all over social media. It just spun and spun, and suddenly I was getting calls, ‘Don’t look at the Internet. Don’t turn on the television,’” she said. “It was sort of heartbreaking and really painful, but also like walking into a film of someone else’s life.”