A woman recently took to Reddit to ask for opinions on her plan to sue her brother after his kids flushed her expensive engagement ring down the toilet. This is her full story.
A Family Affair
The Original Poster (OP) lives in Canada with her husband. She has a brother who is married and has two sons, ages 4 and 8.
The Boys Were There
Recently, OP hosted a family dinner. Among the attendees were her brother and her two nephews.
She Didn’t Wear It Much
OP had an engagement ring that her husband paid $30,000 for before they were married.
She used to wear it all the time, but as time passed she wore it less and less. Most of the time, she just kept it in her walk-in closet and only wore it for special occasions.
It Wasn’t That Special of an Occasion
OP was not wearing her engagement ring at the family dinner since she was hosting and would be doing most of the work.
They Wandered off to Play
After dinner, OP cleaned up the dishes while the other adults hung out and chatted in the outdoor patio area.
Meanwhile, OP’s nephews wandered off to play without anyone noticing.
They Found the Ring
Ultimately, the nephews ended up in OP’s master bedroom and started playing with various items. No surprise, the engagement ring was among them.
They Panicked
When the family realized the nephews were missing, they went searching for them and found them in the master bathroom.
The boys knew they’d be in trouble for playing with OP’s stuff, so they panicked.
They Flushed
Part of that panic involved flushing OP’s precious engagement ring down the toilet.
It Was Gone for Good
OP called a plumber right away, hoping that the ring had gotten stuck in the trap of the toilet pipe. But when the plumber took things apart, the ring was nowhere to be found. It was gone forever.
She Wanted Him to Pay
Since OP had kept the original receipt for the ring, she sent him a scanned copy after the party as proof of the ring’s cost.
She wanted him to reimburse her for her loss.
He Wasn’t Going to Pay
But OP’s brother was having none of it and immediately called his sister a jerk. He said that they were family and she was being unreasonable for expecting him to pay for something his boys had done.
Boys Will Be Boys
They were just kids, he said and flatly refused to give OP the cost of the ring.
She Was Going to Sue
Frustrated by her brother’s response, OP told him that she would take him to court over the matter if she had to.
That turned the entire family against her, with many of them bombarding her with messages, urging her to let it go and not sue family members.
He Forgot the Insurance
Unfortunately, OP found out the day after her nephew flushed the ring that it wasn’t insured. Seems her husband had forgotten to take out a policy in the years they had been married.
No Good Answers
Armed with that fact, OP was left with two choices – collect the money from her brother, or just lose the engagement ring for good.
He Couldn’t Afford It
OP really wanted to get her ring back, so she suggested a payment plan to her brother. But he told her that he couldn’t afford to repay even $100 per month and rejected any sort of repayment.
She Could Always Sell Her Car
OP’s brother burned one of his last bridges with her when he suggested that she should sell her car if she wanted a replacement ring.
They Can Afford It
Despite his claims of financial hardship, OP knows that her brother and his wife make good money.
What’s more, they live in the house OP’s parents gave them when she bought them a new one. Their expenses should be minimal.
She’s Bringing in the Pros
At this point, OP is consulting a family lawyer and is also considering hiring an investigator to prove that her brother can afford to replace the ring.
She Asked Readers for Advice
Redditors have a variety of opinions on this situation. Many of them think the brother is definitely responsible since he wasn’t watching his kids, and they think he should pay.
So, what do you think of this story? Should OP’s brother have to pay for the ring that his kids flushed?
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The post She’s Suing Her Brother Because His Troublesome Kids Flushed Her $30K Engagement Ring first appeared on Fistful of Dollars.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Snezhana_G. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit