Is it rude to be on your phone at family dinner?
Guilty
The short answer
Yes, especially if you made the no-phones rule. A quick check is human; a whole meal is not.
The ruling
From the public record. Names are replaced with roles.
Small claims division
Case no.PC-2026-00428
The daughter v. The dad
Filed 10/06/2026
- Plaintiff
- The daughter
- Defendant
- The dad
Statement of claim
My dad made a rule that there are no phones at dinner. Last night he checked the game score under the table the entire meal and said it did not count because the volume was off.
Charge
Breaking his own no-phones rule at dinner, with volume off as a defense
Judgment
Guilty
Dad found guilty of breaking his own no-phones rule to check the score
Sentence
The defendant's phone will stay in another room for the next five family dinners, and he will clear the table after each one.
How the court usually rules on this
The court applies phone rules to everyone at the table, including whoever wrote them. It is generous about a single urgent message and strict about steady scrolling. The usual sentence asks the offender to keep the phone in another room for a set number of dinners.
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