A New Jersey high school student is suing her own mother and father for reportedly kicking her out of the house the moment she turned 18 years old.
Rachel Canning, a Morris Catholic High School honor student, cheerleader and lacrosse player, filed a suit against her parents in the Family Part of Morristown's state Superior Court, according to a report by USA Today. The 18-year-old is suing mother Elizabeth and father Sean Canning for financial support and full payment for her college education.
Rachel has reportedly not been emancipated from her parents, and is dependent on them for monetary backing.
Rachel's lawyer Tanya N. Helfand stated on Monday that Elizabeth and Sean haven't paid back $5,306 in tuition owed to Morris Catholic School, and have ordered the parents to return that debt immediately, pay for Rachel's living and travel expenses, then entrust a college fund to their child.
Judge Peter Bogaard of the Morristown Court has scheduled Rachel's hearing for Tuesday, USA Today reported.
Rachel has stayed with a friend living in Rockaway Township since she was reportedly "abandoned" by her mother and father. Classmate Jaime Inglesino's father John is footing the bill for the lawsuit, and has hired attorney Helfand to work for the teen.
Father Sean said this week that Rachel's issues are not being portrayed accurately, and expressed worry that the teen was being "enabled" by people like the Inglesino family, who mean well, but don't fully understand the whole picture.
"We love our child and miss her," Sean told USA Today. "This is terrible. It's killing me and my wife. We have a child we want home. We're not Draconian and now we're getting hauled into court. She's demanding that we pay her bills, but she doesn't want to live at home and she's saying, 'I don't want to live under your rules.'"
Sean admitted that he and his wife hadn't paid tuition for Morris Catholic High, but Rachel's case was being blown out of proportion. He told USA Today that the teen didn't want to follow basic rules of the home - following curfew, doing chores and not arguing with her two siblings among them - and refused to sever ties with her boyfriend, who the parents think aren't good for Rachel.
"We're heartbroken, but what do you do when a child says, 'I don't want your rules but I want everything under the sun and you to pay for it?'" Sean told USA Today.
Meanwhile, Rachel contended in her filing that her parents kicked her out of the house on Nov. 1, the day she turned 18 years old. The New Jersey teen wrote in her paperwork that her mom and dad cut her "from all support both financially and emotionally," asking school officials at Morris Catholic to not let her go home. Rachel also said her parents abused her.
"My parents have rationalized their actions by blaming me for not following their rules," Rachel wrote. "They stopped paying my high school tuition to punish the school and me and have redirected my college fund, indicating their refusal to afford me an education as punishment."
Sean said that his daughter's fund is open to her, and hasn't been withdrawn or moved as she says.
