Chapter 20 - THE CIVIL CASES
Three families sued.
Not all six.
Some did not want litigation.
Their choice.
Claims varied:
Privacy.
Unauthorized commercial use of a child’s likeness.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Assault-related damages.
Medical costs.
Platform contract issues.
No one sued for every bad feeling.
Sadie’s claim:
Medical expenses.
Therapy.
Pain.
Privacy concerns tied to raw footage.
Because pool clip never published, commercial-publication damages were limited.
Good.
No fictional multimillion-dollar jackpot from a video nobody saw.
Owen’s claims were more complicated because Derek was his father.
Natalie’s counsel handled separately.
Insurance?
Homeowner and business policies disputed coverage for intentional acts.
Some defense costs covered initially.
Intentional conduct exclusions applied to parts.
No magical insurer paying everything.
Hard Lessons assets entered settlement negotiations.
The business shut down.
Not court-ordered forever? The company could legally exist, but platform access ended and Derek agreed to cease child-content business as part of later settlement/probation. Good.
Remaining business funds:
approximately $94,000 after taxes, refunds, legal holds.
Not enough to satisfy everything.
Derek had personal assets.
House equity.
Savings.
No billionaire.
Civil settlement talks.
I refused one proposed confidentiality clause that would prohibit Sadie from ever discussing what happened.
Naomi agreed.
We could protect financial details.
Not gag a child about her own life forever.
Final settlement came later.
Then subscribers filed chargebacks.
Tax agency reviewed unreported income.
Derek corrected returns through accountant.
Penalties.
No dramatic tax prosecution.
Good.
One thing surprised me.
A group of former Hard Lessons subscribers donated refunds to a child-safety nonprofit.
I did not praise them publicly.
No need to turn restitution into applause.
Another wrote me an apology email.
I never answered.
They did not know how content was made.
Some suspected.
Some did not.
Responsibility had different sizes.
Then Sadie asked whether she could watch the video.
The pool raw clip.
“No.”
“Why?”
“You’re six.”
“It’s me.”
“Yes.”
“Then mine.”
That stopped me.
Legally, evidence.
Emotionally, her image.
We discussed with therapist.
Recommendation:
Not now.
Maybe later if she wants.
I told her:
“It exists, and adults are keeping it secure. When you’re older, we can talk about seeing it.”
She hated the answer.
Accepted.
Ownership of experience does not mean unrestricted access to traumatic footage is always wise at six.
Still, I promised:
May you like
No one would show it to her without her choice.
A promise I could keep.
