A Florida dad is $80,000 poorer after his daughter went on Facebook to brag about a court settlement he received – and lost him the lot.

Patrick Snay is the former headmaster of Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, and in 2011 he launched legal action against his old employers after his contract was not renewed. Snay claimed he was let go because of his age, and sued the school for $10,000 in back wages, $80,000 for the ageism, and $60,000 for his lawyer's fees.

However, as part of a subsequent $80k out-of-court settlement deal with the school, Snay had to sign a confidentiality agreement promising he would not disclose the terms of the compensation package. Unfortunately for him, he told his family and his daughter Dana couldn't wait to get on Facebook with the news.

"Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver. Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT," she wrote on her Facebook profile, sharing it with more than 1,200 friends, including current and former pupils of the school.

Gulliver's lawyer probably popped a bottle of champagne on seeing the post, and promptly went to court to block the $80,000 (£48,000) settlement. Now, after two years of legal wrangling, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal has found in favor of the school and young Dana won't be getting to swan around London, Paris, and Rome on the prep school's check book as planned.

"Based on the clear and unambiguous language of the parties' agreement and Snay's testimony confirming his breach of its terms, we reverse the order entered below granting the Snays' motion to enforce the agreement," the court ruled this week.

A parent's love for their child is usually one of the strongest bonds there is, but El Reg wonders if someone's going to be on the naughty step for quite some time to come. ®