Woman Has Family Party—Not Ready For Why She’s Being ‘Sued’ One Day Later

A woman has cut contact with her father after he threatened to sue her and her husband over a fall outside their home during a winter storm.

In a post on Reddit, the 30-year-old user Wayward_Jen said her 61-year-old dad slipped on her driveway during a power outage and freezing rain just days after Christmas.

Although he apparently suffered only bruising and drove himself home, the original poster (OP) said he later told her he had contacted a lawyer and informed relatives he planned to take legal action.

Scolded Again

The woman shared that tensions had already been brewing. On Boxing Day, her father criticized her husband for drinking too much, though she said there had been no incident. Two days later, she hosted a Christmas movie and board game night.

Around 7:30 p.m., the power went out as freezing rain drenched the area. A salt shortage meant they had none to spread on the driveway.

“My dad then decided to go outside alone in the dark after knowing it was freezing rain, after seeing my cousin fall,” the OP told Redditors.

He slipped and fell, but reportedly declined help beyond ice and Tylenol. When she suggested he should not be going out alone at his age, she said he apparently snapped, “don’t question my abilities,” and scolded them again in front of guests.

The following day, the OP texted to check on her father. She said he responded by blaming her husband for not having salt and claiming he had contacted the municipality and a lawyer to sue them.

She and her husband blocked his number and left shared group chats, fearing anything they said could be used in court. Her mother later told her he had canceled the lawyer, though she was unsure whether that was true.

Amid more than 800 Reddit comments, some pundits urged the daughter to keep her distance.

“I’d stay no contact,” began a supporter, adding, “If he wants to sue you and is being serious, you wouldn’t want to have contact anyway. Right now it’s on him to apologize and I wouldn’t budge until he does.”

Another person went further: “Once he crossed the line into concocting a BS lawsuit, I’d say that’s the end. If he is willing to do that s*** when you’re in a good place, what might he do if he gets enraged all over again?”

Toxic Parenting

Family estrangement is not uncommon. A 2020 nationwide survey by Cornell University professor Karl Andrew Pillemer found that one-in-four Americans reported being estranged from another relative, according to a Newsweek report on toxic parenting.

In that article, clinical psychologist Wendy O’Neill told Newsweek: “It may be that the most important step that can be taken is to stop contact with the parent,” while noting that in some cases there may be room to work on the relationship.