Woman Threatening To Take Brother to Court Over $30K Engagement Ring Backed

A man has been blasted online for refusing to pay back the cost of his sister's engagement ring after it fell into the hands of his two young children.

A distraught woman posted on Reddit, under the username u/throwaway1846189, after the $30,000 engagement ring was flushed down the toilet by her two nephews, aged 4 and 8.

The value of this poster's engagement ring is considerably higher than average, as revealed by the 2021 WeddingWire Newlywed Report. On average, most engagement rings cost around $5,500.

However, 18 percent of those polled spent over $10,000 on the engagement ring, so the cost can vary significantly.

The Reddit user explained that she hardly wore the ring around the house, so it was kept in her closet for special occasions. However, while family were at the house for dinner, the two nephews wandered upstairs to cause mischief.

The post adds that the brother "was not supervising his kids," which had disastrous consequences.

"My nephews went into the master bedroom without anyone knowing and started playing with everything," the Reddit post read. "Including my engagement ring.

"When we came to look for them, they panicked because they know they aren't supposed to be upstairs, ran into the master bathroom and flushed my ring."

Since the two boys were the reason that the uninsured jewelry was lost, the Redditor sent her brother a receipt for the ring and asked him to reimburse it. However, he "refused to repay the cost."

"I told him I will be taking him to court for this, and now my entire family is blowing up my phone saying family shouldn't sue each other and just let it go."

The poster is very skeptical of her brother's claim that he "does not have the money to repay" the cost, even on a monthly repayment plan. As she feels "so distraught" by the experience, she is considering hiring a private investigator to find out the truth about his finances.

Marina Shepelsky, legal expert and founder of the Shepelsky Law Group, tells Newsweek that parents are liable for any damage caused by their children.

"American law holds parents responsible for the actions of their children," she said. "It's an established fact. Different states have different laws about parents' liabilities for their children's deeds.

"Parental responsibility laws exist in every state in some form. These statutes cover the legal consequences of damage or injury inflicted by a minor or child, on a person, place or thing."

While specifics about the incident vary depending on the state, in some instances parents can be "financially responsible" for damage their child causes.

Shepelsky continued: "Damages caused by young children should be the liability of a parent. The brother is liable for the ring flushed down the toilet as it seems, but it depends on what state it took place in."

Since the Reddit post was shared on April 13, it has received over 16,400 votes and over 2,900 comments.

Many of the commenters have backed the poster for demanding that the ring be compensated, although plenty of people questioned why such an expensive piece of jewelry wasn't insured.

One comment reads: "His circus, his monkeys. He wasn't watching them, that's on him. 100% he should replace your ring."

While another person wrote: "Why wouldn't you insure a 30K ring? Why wouldn't you ask your partner if they insured it? If you're taking it off long term, why wasn't it in a lockbox? An 8-year-old knows not to flush diamonds."

Newsweek reached out to u/throwaway1846189 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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