'AITA for calling the police on my 'brat' niece for ruining my daughter's laptop?'

'AITA for calling the police on my 'brat' niece for ruining my daughter's laptop?'

I f 43 have a daughter f 16. My sister f 40 has a daughter 15 and always had the idea of having both our daughters be the best of friends. She would only schedule playdates with my daughter and not any of her daughter's school friends.

It kept going on and her daughter began to resent mine. she would start off by stealing things here and there and went on by lying about her. My sister coddled her daughter her entire life and had one of those weird relationships with her daughter likes the ones on tv.

She had a real life brat as a daughter but everyone in our extended family would brush it off as just "fiery personality".

Now onto what happened yesterday. My daughter won a school raffle and got the grand prize, which was a Mac Book. My daughter got praise from nearly everyone. Everyone except my sister, who I didn't mind about.

On my Dad's 78th birthday, I sent out invitations to everyone and said gifts were optional as I had already bought him quite a lot of gifts. My sister and her daughter show up with this juice maker and some fruits and rush to my kitchen.

While everyone was getting settled in my daughter yells from her bedroom. I got scared and ran up to see what was going on and saw my Niece with her juice maker and my daughter's laptop covered in a smoothie like mixture.

I yell for my sister to come upstairs and she just comes out the bathroom next to my daughter's room. She said it's no big deal and that the computer was probably water proof. it isn't. I said "what was that smoothie doing out the kitchen and why didn't my sister use the down stairs bathrooms since up stairs off limits".

I told her that she would be paying for the repairs but she just brushed it off and said it was fine and family doesn't work like that. she headed downstairs but I called the police and had her and her daughter kicked out. The rest of the party was awkward and tense.

After it all I got texts from everyone that saw what happened asking for me to just drop it. Some even called me entitled. I was thinking on serving her with court papers. WIBTA?

Update: It was intentional... While I was away I took the computer to a repair shop. I asked if they could Fix the water damage they said yes but its not easy. While they were trying to fix the computer they opened the back and saw there were multiple punctures in the wires and other delicate parts.

I've decided to file a lawsuit. What the extended family thinks of me is irrelevant because my sister allowed her daughter to destroy it on purpose. I'm getting in touch with a lawyer. Thank you all, I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Here were the top comments on the post:

dncrmom

Who the hell brings a juicer upstairs & sets it up on a brand new computer? This was absolutely planned and done deliberately to stick it to your daughter. Your sister’s excuses are laughable. Definitely take her to small claims court to pay for the cleaning & any repairs to refurbish the computer. NTA

Far-Juggernaut8880

NTA to expect sister and niece to pay for damages.

Go no contact till they do and even after go low contact

OP responded:

Yes, im avoiding contact from about everyone who was there.

ConstructionSuch2598

No, not the AH. Intentional destruction of property is a crime, family or not. If one of my kids broke their cousins’ item intentionally I would pay them for it AND have them work it off. There is no excuse.

OP responded:

Exactly I've explain it like this to my sister and even offered her to only pay for half but she's been posting things on Facebook victimizing herself and daughter.

Glad_Shop5765:

Her fiery personality can enjoy dishing out the money to fix the juice she leaked onto the macbook. Someone has to pay for it, and it should be the daughter and the sister.

MudTurbulent8912:

Your sis and niece are toxic - unless the macbook is replaced / repaired, go NC. Let the rest of the family fall where they want.

-BOOST-

Pretty reasonable to ask someone to pay for repairs, accident or not.

Mehlol42

NTA. She owes your daughter a new one. Tell her you will be taking her to court if she doesn't pay for it of her own volition. Inform her that she and her daughter are no longer welcome at your home.

Adorable-Reaction887

You know this was intentional, right?

Take her to small claims court if needed. There's not one good reason I can think of where juicing of fruit would need to be done in a *bedroom, where there are multiple things that can be damaged, stained, etc.

Threadsoffate2021

NTA - This is about more than a laptop. This is about a brat paying for the consequences of her actions, AND to show your daughter that you are in her corner and will stick up for her.

It's also time to go low contact with the sister and your niece.

NHFNCFRE

Who the heck thinks that computers are waterproof?!? Your sister is an idiot, she’s clearly jealous of you/your life. Her daughter is in for some rude awakenings—at this point, your daughter may be the only one in her age group that even talks to her since niece seems such a pain.

Macbook laptops run about $2k and up, you are SO NTA. Make her pay, regardless of familial excuses.