It may not be April 1st any time soon, but pranks can be pulled year round! Sneak some toothpaste between some Oreos and deliver them kindly on a plate to your friends, stick googly eyes on all of your roommate’s produce for a surprise when they open the fridge, fill your partner’s car with balloons before they head off to work, or cover your bathroom mirror with unflattering selfies of your roommate. As long as nobody gets hurt and there’s no property damaged, feel free to have a little fun!

It’s easy to get carried away with pranks though. One minute you and your friends are laughing hysterically, then before you know it, someone’s being rushed to the hospital or calling the fire department… It’s important never to take a prank too far. But unfortunately for one woman, a “prank” her niece recently pulled was not very well received and might even escalate to them hiring lawyers.

Below, you can find the full story that this frustrated aunt recently shared on the Am I the [Jerk]? subreddit wondering if suing her sister and niece would be an overreaction to the thousands of dollars in damages caused. We would love to hear your thoughts on the situation down below, pandas, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring a prank gone wrong, you can find that right here!

This woman is wondering if it would be wrong to sue her niece for ruining an expensive coat on purpose

Image credits: elpidioloffredo (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/throooowaaaayt

The woman later shared an update on the situation and explained what her niece’s punishment will be

Image credits: u/throooowaaaayt

She also responded to several readers and provided additional details about the situation

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Personally, I am far from a prankster myself, pandas. Maybe I’ll do something small like hiding a silly photo in my partner’s drawers, so he is greeted with a smiling Shrek when he goes to pick out his clothes for the day. But plotting pranks to pull on family members and recording them to post on Instagram is way out of my wheelhouse. Teenagers tend to be naturals at pulling pranks though. And I would never want to stand in a kid’s way when they’re just trying to have a little fun. But this girl is 16 years old. She should understand that this “joke” was far from harmless. 

Not all 16-year-olds have a great understanding of money, but one would think that a teen would consider $20k to be even more than it is. This girl likely has much less than that amount in her bank account, so throwing it down the drain by destroying this coat is shocking. When it comes to how the aunt decides to respond to the coat incident, legal action seems appropriate. However, engaging in a legal battle is expensive and complicated, especially when trying to sue a family member. Technically, one can sue a minor, but they typically don’t have much money, and their parents might not be held responsible for their actions.

According to FindLaw.com, minors can be sued for defamation, causing personal injury, assault or battery, a copyright violation, property damage, trespassing, breach of contract, or infliction of emotional distress. In this situation, it appears that property damage might be the way to go. However, aside from the niece being a minor, it also may seem a bit extreme to sue a family member. Will the relationship be permanently damaged? Will it cause more rifts in the family? Well, apparently, about one third of people would consider suing a family member or friend if an injury or damages were severe enough. It’s not an easy course of action, but sometimes it is warranted.

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This situation is unfortunate all around. The woman lost her beautiful coat that was a gift from her mother-in-law, and her relationship with her sister and aunt is likely permanently tarnished, regardless of whether they end up going to court or not. Many readers agreed that this woman is justified if she decides to seek legal action. Of course, nobody needs a $20k coat in the first place, and she is well aware that it is luxurious, as she mentioned in the post. But causing $20k worth of damage in someone’s home or car would be frowned upon without any questions, so this shouldn’t be any different. Let us know in the comments what you think about this situation, pandas, and if you’ve ever found yourself in a legal dispute with a family member, feel free to share your personal stories as well. Then if you’d like to read another Bored Panda article about pranks gone wrong, look no further than right here.    

Many people sympathized with the woman and agreed that she would be justified in pursuing legal action

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