A Will County man who claimed a neighborhood teenager caused him emotional distress and lost income by frequently ringing his doorbell and fleeing said Wednesday he is dropping a lawsuit against the youth and his family.
John D. Wright, of Shorewood, said he has directed his attorney to withdraw the week-old civil suit over the ding-dong ditching, which seeks $50,000 in damages from the 14-year-old and his parents.
“I made my point that I was being harassed. He’s apologized, and that’s it,” Wright said in a telephone interview. “No money changed hands.”
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As of late Wednesday, there was no record in Will County court of a motion to dismiss the suit, but Wright said his attorney is out of town and the motion will be filed Friday.
Wright said he lives a few blocks from the youth and his family. The suit states that an “individual or individuals repeatedly rang the doorbell at the Wright residence” for several weeks until the youth was caught. The suit indicates police were involved in the matter.
In the suit, Wright claims the youth’s actions caused him emotional distress, severe anxiety, sleeplessness and rapid weight loss. He said he required medication to deal with the matter and that he lost income in excess of $30,000 because he was unable to meet an incentive he had met the prior 20 years.
Wright and the youth’s father are both insurance agents for the same nationwide company, Wright said. They work within two miles of each other in Joliet.
The suit indicates the youth “intentionally chose the residence because he knew John D. Wright was also an agent with the insurance company like his father.”
Wright said in the suit that the parents “had a duty to exercise reasonable care so as to control their minor child as to prevent him from intentionally harming others.”
Wright said Wednesday that in retrospect he should have had “a kumbaya moment” with the youth and his family.
“I’m sure (the father) feels the same,” Wright said. “We’re just two quiet guys.”
The youth’s family could not be reached for comment.
Wright said he was surprised that the suit became public. “It shouldn’t have played out in the media,” he said.
Dennis Sullivan and Frank Vaisvilas are freelance reporters.