What just irks me about this is that, assuming it was a genuine accident (losing the pictures), I mean… sheesh.
If I handed over sentimental material to another individual for any reason, and that person lost/broke it, I wouldn’t sue. I might be pissed, but extracting money through the court systems when I kind of knew the inherent risk when I handed over my prescious items to another person for safekeeping.
A lawsuit shouldn’t be a way for a person to insure valuables after the fact.
Lower Richland. And the copies were much better quality.
Let me play the devils advocate…
I have gazillions os so called “snap shots”,on,lets say, 20 yr old to 75-80 yr old “photographic paper”, they made great paper and could make some sweet prints, even back then.My own snapshots are from various events, from long gone family members…some of whom i ONLY know from these photos.
These snapshots have ALWAYS been with me, or in my family…you couldn’t pay me enough for few of them, those made it into the albums.
Seeing a picture of my paternal grandparents…real “Sooners” who traveled in seprate wagon trains to settle in mid Oklahoma; Pictures of my moms side in Okinaw, as grandpa was a “full bird” in the army and a great snapshot artist 
…I can “smell” thier house in NC every time I look at that album.
Just sayin’…I feel your pain brother but I ALSO feel your aunties…$2000.00 is a fair price to learn to treasure the memories.
kind regards…tsfr
What disturbs me about her attitude is the complete refusal to accept a copy. If she is sentimental about the content of the picture, then a copy would be welcomed. Sounds like she’s more sentimental about the paper the picture resided on than the picture itself. That may be important if we’re talking about a collectible, authenticity is prized, but for a family snapshot?
Of course, the cynic in me thinks she’ll try to get copies from the relatives who got them from you, so she can have the money AND the pictures.
What a cow.
Can you turn the rest of the family against her? How would folks react if this story were the lead, or even the bulk, of your annual “here’s what’s been goin’ down” Christmas letter?
Was the photo album an acid-free, photo-friendly, keep-photos-forever type? It’d be funny if she pulled it out and you said, “Look! She’s ruining all the photos with that type of album!”
…to be used in court as evidence against someone?
(Sorry, that felt unfinished to me.) 
So, ES-HT , what do you think happened to them?
I’m almost certain that through some goof of my own doing I trashed them some time afterwards. I take full responsibility for their loss. I just think that the amount of compensation is a little high. And while I’m not happy about the “guilty” verdict, I’m also a little concerned that I might have a search warrant executed against me to find them–which, if it happens, will be a big waste of time, and to no benefit. The judge’s “verdict” was “seizure of the pictures, if they exist, and full compensation” (as noted in the papers).
so, did she tape the $2000 to where the originals were located in the photo album?
How would $2000 replace what was lost, especially when you offered copies and the originals were, yanno, one of a kind and irreplacable?
It’s not like you can just shit another original. Two thousand or not, the copies are gone.
Two thousand is excessive.
Maybe $500 tops, along with a handwritten peice of paper saying, " I will not lose the originals 2000 times."
If she ever put the copies into the photo album, can you get your cash back?
I hope you’re kidding about wanting to make the woman miserable. If all she has is memories, she is to be pitied.
OK, memories + $2,000. You know what I meant.
I have a lot of old family photos going back to the early 1900s* and I prize them very much. Quality of the print is a nonissue to me. A copy wouldn’t have my grandmother’s spidery handwriting on the back noting times, places, and people. They aren’t replaceable by copies or by money. So suing someone for losing them seems like a fairly dumb idea.
*My mother has some tintypes and ambrotypes even older than that.