A district court has ruled against a divorced man who filed a lawsuit against his son for not spending enough time with him, Yangpu District People's Court said Tuesday.

The plaintiff, surnamed Ding, sued his son for a monthly allowance of 500 yuan ($80) on the grounds that the younger man didn't visit him often enough, according to a court press release.

Ding said his son began to grow distant from him after his divorce in 1995. The son, who was only identified as a university student, lived with his mother after the divorce.

The plaintiff had several grievances against his son, including the younger man's failure to visit Ding's mother before she died in 2012. Ding said he had grown desperate to see his son since he suffered a hernia last year.

In court, Ding explained that he didn't file the lawsuit for the money, so much as to persuade his son to come see him more often.

For his part, the son said he pulled away from his father because the older man often shouted at him during past visits.

The court dismissed Ding's lawsuit because his son was a university student and didn't have the money to pay an allowance, though it pointed out that the younger man did have an obligation to support his ill father.

Ding sued his son in 2012 for the same reason, but later withdrew the lawsuit because his son was preparing for the national college entrance examinations.

Global Times