A Man Whose Parents Threw Out His Porn Collection Wins Lawsuit Against Them

A Michigan man who sued his parents for throwing out his prized pornography collection is now in line to collect a hefty reimbursement from them.

In a ruling handed down Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, Beth and Paul Werking will have to pay their son David, 42, as much as $75,000 for destroying the porn.

David Werking won a summary judgment in the case and he and his parents have until mid-February to file written submissions on the damages, according to MLive.com.

In his lawsuit the younger Werking valued the property at an estimated $25,000, but his attorney, Miles Greengard, told the outlet that “we have asked the court for treble damages, which we believe are warranted given the wanton destruction of the property.”

He added, “This was a collection of often irreplaceable items and property.”

Werking moved into his parent’s home in Glen Haven, on the state’s eastern shore of Lake Michigan, in 2016 after he got divorced.

After he moved to Muncie, Indiana, a few months later, Werking discovered he was missing 12 boxes of pornographic films and magazines.

Paul Werking apparently confessed to destroying the collection in an email: “Frankly, David, I did you a big favor by getting rid of all this stuff,” MLive.com reported in September, 2019.

In other emails, he told his son he was shocked by many of the scenes in the collection, which he claimed depicted incestuous sexual relationships, sex with minors and animals, sexual assault and slavery, according to The Holland Sentinel in Michigan.

“That you would buy and watch films depicting such violence is beyond the pale,” Werking’s father wrote. “I have no words to express the depth of my shock and disappointment. Believe it or not, one reason for why I destroyed your porn was for your own mental and emotional health. I would have done the same if I had found a kilo of crack cocaine.”

The son denied any of his pornography was illegal. A review of the materials by the sheriff’s department in Ottawa County, Michigan, found no evidence of child pornography and no charges were filed in the matter, according to MLive.com.

A detailed list of Werking’s porn collection that was entered into the court record showed it included 1,605 individual titles of pornographic DVDs and VHS tapes and at least 50 sex toys and paraphernalia.