Adult kids sue their mother for bad birthday cards
02 September 2011
Two adults in Illinois have spent the last two years suing their mother, claiming that she caused them "emotional distress" during their childhood.

The children, now aged 20 and 23, decided that the courts would be the best forum in which to air their tragic tale of "bad mothering" at the hands of Kimberly Garrity. Kathryn and Steven Minor, who live with their father in a $1.5m home in one of the fanciest areas in Illinois, made a plethora of allegations which, according to the Chicago Tribune, include such outrages as:

1. Sending a birthday card featuring a group of tomatoes (one with googly eyes) but failing to enclose cash or a cheque within the card.
2. Telling her then 7-year-old son to wear his seatbelt or she'd call the police.
3. "Haggling" over the amount she spent on her daughter's prom dress.
4. Calling her daughter at midnight asking her to come home from a party.

The tragic fallout from "bad mothering" yesterday

After experiencing such cruelty the children felt there was no option but to sue their mother to the tune of $50k. With the help of their lawyer father who Garrity divorced him back in 1995.

Garrity's lawyer called the lawsuit "a litany of childish complaints", saying it was nothing more than an attempt by the ex-husband to seek the "ultimate revenge". And the Cook County judge who presided over the case agreed. She dismissed the case ruling that none of Garrity's conduct was "extreme" or "outrageous".

So for now at least, the floodgates will not be opened on a thousand cases of "emotional abuse" from kids denied a limitless supply of Mars Bars and ponies.