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
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.
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
Anyone else sick of this kind of attitude when people do stuff and say "It's a prank" as if it absolves them from all responsibility.
completely! and sometimes they don't even feel like (what i would consider) pranks... like you're not putting your co-worker's stapler in jello - you're slapping a stranger or whatever... i've seen idiots on youtube full on assault someone and immediately go to "oh it's a prank!" just feels lazy and mean! love the person who commented we should back the stockades for pranksters, seems reasonable to me lol
my favorite one youtube "prankster" Zdorovetskiy getting arrested by police because turn out police don't take "it's just a prank" as excuses for assault a random woman.
That the a*****e who went around spraying beautiful women with pepper spray, while recording the assaults? I hope he's in jail.
Imagine punching someone and saying 'it's just a prank can you not take a joke?'
Wasn’t there also some ahole who was giving homeless people toothpaste-filled Oreos as well?
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Yeah. Totally. Let’s unalive the pranksters. An emotionally immature child ruining a coat definitely deserves to die. They simply can’t be taught. Never in history has a teenager learned their lesson. Bring back the stockades. 🙄
The stockade is a publicly humiliating punishment, not a fatal one. No need to be so dramatic.
Marry me
Ashton Kutcher hiding Frankie Muniz Porsche and making him believe it was wrecked by a valet (actor), that's a prank. Justin Timberlake getting punk'd by his friends and mom into thinking the IRS was seizing his assets because of a clerical error...that's a prank. What makes them pranks...the fact that nothing was destroyed and everything returned in original condition. Destroying someone's possessions is not a prank...it's a criminal charge known as vandalism and destruction of property which, in this case is a felony for the niece due to the $20k price tag.
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It's like using "I was drunk" as an excuse.
Yes if I did that kind of shiit when I was a kid my parents would’ve made me live on the roof
I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week.
That would only have happened IF my parents had let me live. My parents had nice things, and being Depression kids, valued them greatly. They also didn’t believe in spoiling their kids (we had some indulgences, but always as a reward for stuff like all As on a report card, etc, so never to the point where we expected them), so they always made sure we knew what we were allowed to touch and what we shouldn’t even breathe next to. We always made sure our friends also knew when they came over. My mother had a coat like this (not as outrageously priced, but still valuable and a gift from my father after their first child, my oldest brother, was born), and it never even crossed my mind to mess with it, even though I was dying to play dress-ups with it. When wearing fur became unacceptable, she sold it. I fully supported her doing so, and was happy I never messed with it and ruined it as a child, because she got a good price for her vintage mid-1940s satin lined mink in mint condition.
A trip to Court for battery, malicious destruction of property, & punitive damages would likely wipe the smile off Niece's face. The mom is brain dead.Teenagers are capable of astounding feats of stupidity- I raised a few, but you do your kids no favors when you shield them from reality.
Absolutely agree and they all should be held accountable for their actions. I would sue them and at the end after getting the cost of the damages say it was all a prank and say, how do you like losing $20k over a prank. What may seem like a prank to some may be life changing to someone else. I can't imagine if that $20k coat was a collectors item whose value goes up with time and is suddenly lost and gone due to someones negligence to become famous and that sad but seems to be all the rage with people who need to be the center of attention or have problems
Yeah everyone is sick of it since the days of filthy Frank
So sick. My ex used to say horrible things to me- once he even called to say he had herpes and must’ve gotten it from me- after crying for hours and getting tested, and also telling my current partner- he said he was just “joking”. Pranks don’t hurt your wallet, your feelings, or your body.
In reading the follow up, I'm happy with the way the BIL responded. I'm glad she's going to face some responsibility for her actions. Feel however you want about fur or leather....I get that. You may feel morally justified in destroying something but if you are going to be self-righteous and commit a crime over it, then you have to have the same willingness to pay for your crime. I watch a lot of court shows and it drives me crazy when people destroy something that belongs to someone else and act like 'it's not a big deal' because *they* don't think it's valuable or don't think they should pay the full value of it because 'it was an accident'. You still damaged it beyond repair. Especially with cars. I could have an old car that gets me to work and works fine it's just older but it's paid off and i can't afford to buy a new one. And you're texting and hit me. Now my car is considered totaled and I can't afford a new/used car so now I lose my job because i can't get to work. It's so annoying how people don't see how their actions cost people so much.
Wonder how many of his daughter’s OTHER horrible misbehavior Daddy was never told about, because apparently his wife didn’t immediately call and tell him about this when it happened! If it was my kid, I would be mortified, apologetic, and blowing up my husband’s phone trying to get through to him and tell him what happened, so we could figure out how to make things right again, together. So it looks like Mom regularly covers for her precious little angel’s “pranks”, since Daddy was clueless, and utterly shocked about this one. Yeah, there’s a load of context going on in that household that we don’t know, and I’m only speculating about, that created this situation.
Wanna bet both the mother and the daughter are jealous of OP being able to afford such a coat?
'Nothing is hidden that shall not be revealed' Perhaps now other things will come to light for Dad. 'Truth is mightier than the two edged sword' Can't cite the quotes, I think they're bible. Info?
And the value/the damage of such unconscious/nay, vile acts to our feelings about the world we live in cannot be estimated. My wish for all perps is that they finally are made to realize the extent of the damage they have caused in a very personal way.
RUINING SOMEONE'S PROPERTY IS NOT A PRANK. What the f**k is wrong with that little brat?
Mommy basically shields child from any and all consequences.
Great way to create a monster.
Sadly so many 'parents' are doing just that.
Her parents and their parenting skills may speak on that but may not always be true yet the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I've noticed that in most occasions where there is only 1 child that the child seems as if they can do no wrong even if seen doing wrong. The child is just basically allowed to do whatever he/she wants to do or act without consequences and the parents get all bent out of shape when that child is corrected and explained the harms of their actions.
Amazing how, with some people, it’s all or nothing when it comes to their child paying consequences for negative behavior, and they never seem to attempt to even try and achieve some kind of balance, so the child learns that bad behavior is punished—-and the parents’ punishment should be fair and fit the crime, not either go overboard or not happen at all. And people wonder why, when their child grows up and moves out, that they never hear from their child anymore.
Probably jealous Auntie can afford such a classy coat....
I wonder if the sisters house of the child who ruined the coat was set ablaze by a child of the coat owner and called it a prank saying that I did it to see if you would stay in or come out and how long it would take the 1st responders to get here
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Why can I not find a single place where anyone has a moral and compassionate angle to this at all. Fur is murder. Killing animals for fashion is WRONG esp when equally lovely faux versions are just as, or more warmer. Start at the top…MIL sh/have been ashamed to wear murdered animals. DIL shouldn’t have prized the gift, and destroying real fur coats is frequently done to bring light to the inhumanity of raising or trapping wild animals for air headed persons’ fashion desires!
Sweetie, no animals were killed, it was made from animals that were sheared. Do I have to explain to you what the word sheared means?
I like how she assumes people only wear coats for fashion. And not like, I don't know, keeping warm or something.
Dearie, that doesn't excuse the destruction of someone else's property. When will you people learn this? If you want to destroy some fur coats, destroy your own, or you get to pay the damage - as you very well should!!
Anyone else sick of this kind of attitude when people do stuff and say "It's a prank" as if it absolves them from all responsibility.
completely! and sometimes they don't even feel like (what i would consider) pranks... like you're not putting your co-worker's stapler in jello - you're slapping a stranger or whatever... i've seen idiots on youtube full on assault someone and immediately go to "oh it's a prank!" just feels lazy and mean! love the person who commented we should back the stockades for pranksters, seems reasonable to me lol
my favorite one youtube "prankster" Zdorovetskiy getting arrested by police because turn out police don't take "it's just a prank" as excuses for assault a random woman.
That the a*****e who went around spraying beautiful women with pepper spray, while recording the assaults? I hope he's in jail.
Imagine punching someone and saying 'it's just a prank can you not take a joke?'
Wasn’t there also some ahole who was giving homeless people toothpaste-filled Oreos as well?
This comment has been deleted.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah. Totally. Let’s unalive the pranksters. An emotionally immature child ruining a coat definitely deserves to die. They simply can’t be taught. Never in history has a teenager learned their lesson. Bring back the stockades. 🙄
The stockade is a publicly humiliating punishment, not a fatal one. No need to be so dramatic.
Marry me
Ashton Kutcher hiding Frankie Muniz Porsche and making him believe it was wrecked by a valet (actor), that's a prank. Justin Timberlake getting punk'd by his friends and mom into thinking the IRS was seizing his assets because of a clerical error...that's a prank. What makes them pranks...the fact that nothing was destroyed and everything returned in original condition. Destroying someone's possessions is not a prank...it's a criminal charge known as vandalism and destruction of property which, in this case is a felony for the niece due to the $20k price tag.
This comment has been deleted.
It's like using "I was drunk" as an excuse.
Yes if I did that kind of shiit when I was a kid my parents would’ve made me live on the roof
I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week.
That would only have happened IF my parents had let me live. My parents had nice things, and being Depression kids, valued them greatly. They also didn’t believe in spoiling their kids (we had some indulgences, but always as a reward for stuff like all As on a report card, etc, so never to the point where we expected them), so they always made sure we knew what we were allowed to touch and what we shouldn’t even breathe next to. We always made sure our friends also knew when they came over. My mother had a coat like this (not as outrageously priced, but still valuable and a gift from my father after their first child, my oldest brother, was born), and it never even crossed my mind to mess with it, even though I was dying to play dress-ups with it. When wearing fur became unacceptable, she sold it. I fully supported her doing so, and was happy I never messed with it and ruined it as a child, because she got a good price for her vintage mid-1940s satin lined mink in mint condition.
A trip to Court for battery, malicious destruction of property, & punitive damages would likely wipe the smile off Niece's face. The mom is brain dead.Teenagers are capable of astounding feats of stupidity- I raised a few, but you do your kids no favors when you shield them from reality.
Absolutely agree and they all should be held accountable for their actions. I would sue them and at the end after getting the cost of the damages say it was all a prank and say, how do you like losing $20k over a prank. What may seem like a prank to some may be life changing to someone else. I can't imagine if that $20k coat was a collectors item whose value goes up with time and is suddenly lost and gone due to someones negligence to become famous and that sad but seems to be all the rage with people who need to be the center of attention or have problems
Yeah everyone is sick of it since the days of filthy Frank
So sick. My ex used to say horrible things to me- once he even called to say he had herpes and must’ve gotten it from me- after crying for hours and getting tested, and also telling my current partner- he said he was just “joking”. Pranks don’t hurt your wallet, your feelings, or your body.
In reading the follow up, I'm happy with the way the BIL responded. I'm glad she's going to face some responsibility for her actions. Feel however you want about fur or leather....I get that. You may feel morally justified in destroying something but if you are going to be self-righteous and commit a crime over it, then you have to have the same willingness to pay for your crime. I watch a lot of court shows and it drives me crazy when people destroy something that belongs to someone else and act like 'it's not a big deal' because *they* don't think it's valuable or don't think they should pay the full value of it because 'it was an accident'. You still damaged it beyond repair. Especially with cars. I could have an old car that gets me to work and works fine it's just older but it's paid off and i can't afford to buy a new one. And you're texting and hit me. Now my car is considered totaled and I can't afford a new/used car so now I lose my job because i can't get to work. It's so annoying how people don't see how their actions cost people so much.
Wonder how many of his daughter’s OTHER horrible misbehavior Daddy was never told about, because apparently his wife didn’t immediately call and tell him about this when it happened! If it was my kid, I would be mortified, apologetic, and blowing up my husband’s phone trying to get through to him and tell him what happened, so we could figure out how to make things right again, together. So it looks like Mom regularly covers for her precious little angel’s “pranks”, since Daddy was clueless, and utterly shocked about this one. Yeah, there’s a load of context going on in that household that we don’t know, and I’m only speculating about, that created this situation.
Wanna bet both the mother and the daughter are jealous of OP being able to afford such a coat?
'Nothing is hidden that shall not be revealed' Perhaps now other things will come to light for Dad. 'Truth is mightier than the two edged sword' Can't cite the quotes, I think they're bible. Info?
And the value/the damage of such unconscious/nay, vile acts to our feelings about the world we live in cannot be estimated. My wish for all perps is that they finally are made to realize the extent of the damage they have caused in a very personal way.
RUINING SOMEONE'S PROPERTY IS NOT A PRANK. What the f**k is wrong with that little brat?
Mommy basically shields child from any and all consequences.
Great way to create a monster.
Sadly so many 'parents' are doing just that.
Her parents and their parenting skills may speak on that but may not always be true yet the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I've noticed that in most occasions where there is only 1 child that the child seems as if they can do no wrong even if seen doing wrong. The child is just basically allowed to do whatever he/she wants to do or act without consequences and the parents get all bent out of shape when that child is corrected and explained the harms of their actions.
Amazing how, with some people, it’s all or nothing when it comes to their child paying consequences for negative behavior, and they never seem to attempt to even try and achieve some kind of balance, so the child learns that bad behavior is punished—-and the parents’ punishment should be fair and fit the crime, not either go overboard or not happen at all. And people wonder why, when their child grows up and moves out, that they never hear from their child anymore.
Probably jealous Auntie can afford such a classy coat....
I wonder if the sisters house of the child who ruined the coat was set ablaze by a child of the coat owner and called it a prank saying that I did it to see if you would stay in or come out and how long it would take the 1st responders to get here
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Why can I not find a single place where anyone has a moral and compassionate angle to this at all. Fur is murder. Killing animals for fashion is WRONG esp when equally lovely faux versions are just as, or more warmer. Start at the top…MIL sh/have been ashamed to wear murdered animals. DIL shouldn’t have prized the gift, and destroying real fur coats is frequently done to bring light to the inhumanity of raising or trapping wild animals for air headed persons’ fashion desires!
Sweetie, no animals were killed, it was made from animals that were sheared. Do I have to explain to you what the word sheared means?
I like how she assumes people only wear coats for fashion. And not like, I don't know, keeping warm or something.
Dearie, that doesn't excuse the destruction of someone else's property. When will you people learn this? If you want to destroy some fur coats, destroy your own, or you get to pay the damage - as you very well should!!