A New Jersey teenager claiming her mother and father tossed her out of their home and cut her off financially is suing them for immediate support, current private-school fees and future college tuition. The parents, meanwhile, say that daughter Rachel Canning, 18, moved out voluntarily after refusing to abide by their rules.

“We love our child and miss her. This is terrible. It’s killing me and my wife,” Rachel's father, Sean Canning, a town administrator and retired police officer, tells the Daily Record. “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.’” The rules, he notes, include reconsidering her relationship with a boyfriend who may be a bad influence, being respectful, and abiding by her curfew. He and his wife, Elizabeth, who live in suburban Lincoln Park, about 25 miles outside of New York City, have kept their daughter’s car because they paid for it, says Canning, and he admits that they did stop paying Rachel's tuition at the private Morris Catholic High School. A hearing is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in the Morris County Superior Court.

For months, Rachel — an honor student, cheerleader, and lacrosse player — has been living with the family of her best friend and classmate, Jaime Inglesino, whose father, attorney John Inglesino, is bankrolling Rachel’s lawsuit. He’s also requesting in the lawsuit that the Cannings reimburse him for the legal fees, so far totaling $12,597, according to the paper.

Rachel’s attorney, Tanya Helfand, is not currently taking calls as she prepares for Tuesday's hearing, her office tells Yahoo Shine. Rachel did not return a call from Yahoo Shine, and the Morris County court was closed on Monday due to inclement weather. But the Daily Record reports that, in the suit, Rachel alleges her parents decided to cut her off “from all support both financially and emotionally” as of her 18th birthday, which was November 1. Her suit also demands the following of the Cannings: that they take care of an outstanding $5,306 Morris Catholic tuition bill; pay their daughter’s current living and transportation expenses; and free up her existing college fund, as she’s already been accepted to several universities.

It’s not unheard of for youngsters to take legal action against their parents for various offenses — from a pregnant Texas teen who sued her parents for allegedly pressuring her to get an abortion, to a pair of Illinois siblings in their 20s who sued their mom (unsuccessfully) for bad mothering. Even so, the Canning case is an extremely unusual one, according to experts in family law. That’s because similar suits typically involve either a divorce context, with parents disagreeing on a child’s financial support, or a fight for emancipation, in which a teen is declared financially independent from parents.

“This young woman is actually saying, ‘I want to compel the court to continue to support me financially. That’s what’s unique in this case,” Mary Coogan, assistant director of the non-profit Advocates for Children of New Jersey, tells Yahoo Shine. “So this young lady is in a unique situation because it does become very fact-sensitive. There’s really no law directly on point.” What families in similar situations have done, in Coogan’s experience, is to file for what’s called a “family crisis petition,” in which the court will try to mediate an agreeable outcome between the parents and their child.

Talking the situation through would be a better route here than a lawsuit here, Kenneth Neumann, a New York divorce mediator and psychologist with the Center for Mediation & Training, tells Yahoo Shine. “We often use the legal system as a way to deal with disagreements when we should be using therapy or mediation,” he says, noting that Rachel’s case is “extremely rare,” and that he’s “not had a case like this in 30 years,” with the most unique angle being that the parents are not in disagreement. Unfortunately for Rachel, “I don’t think she has much of a case," says Neumann. "This sounds like just another 18-year-old who got into a thing with her parents.”

chaos0xomega wrote:
She seems to have daddy issues... I could help her out with those ;P

 Grey Templar wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
She seems to have daddy issues... I could help her out with those ;P

Careful man. Thats Kronks turf.

 Medium of Death wrote:
It's strange that the father of the family she is staying with is actually supporting her in this. I wonder if her parents aren't that great after all. Or whether the family she is staying with is equally deluded.

For months, Rachel — an honor student, cheerleader, and lacrosse player — has been living with the family of her best friend and classmate, Jaime Inglesino, whose father, attorney John Inglesino, is bankrolling Rachel’s lawsuit. He’s also requesting in the lawsuit that the Cannings reimburse him for the legal fees, so far totaling $12,597, according to the paper.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

For months, Rachel — an honor student, cheerleader, and lacrosse player — has been living with the family of her best friend and classmate, Jaime Inglesino, whose father, attorney John Inglesino, is bankrolling Rachel’s lawsuit. He’s also requesting in the lawsuit that the Cannings reimburse him for the legal fees, so far totaling $12,597, according to the paper.

That seems suspicious to me. Either the parents aren't being truthful and did something grievous enough to Rachel to convince one of her friend's attorney parents to fund this lawsuit, or Rachel is one great spin artist who convinced an attorney to bankroll a frivolous lawsuit to the tune of $13k.

What a mess.

 whembly wrote:


She's 18... grow up.

Good on the parents.

 Steve steveson wrote:

 whembly wrote:


She's 18... grow up.

Good on the parents.

Who's still at school, which her parents appear to be stopping her from finishing. The fact that because of some disagreement over a boyfriend they are stoping paying for her schooling in the final year, where she is clearly doing well, makes me more to this than a simple teen hissy fit.

 Steve steveson wrote:

 whembly wrote:


She's 18... grow up.

Good on the parents.

Who's still at school, which her parents appear to be stopping her from finishing. The fact that because of some disagreement over a boyfriend they are stoping paying for her schooling in the final year, where she is clearly doing well, makes me more to this than a simple teen hissy fit.

and free up her existing college fund, as she’s already been accepted to several universities.

Mr. Canning admits a state worker visited the home just prior to Rachel’s alleged ‘abandonment,’ but that the official found the teen simply to be ‘spoiled’ and didn’t pursue the abuse allegations.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572315/High-school-cheerleader-18-sues-retired-police-chief-father-college-tuition-legal-fees-kicks-refusing-live-rules.html#ixzz2ux6XlcHS
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 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Y'know. I live at home and I have no problems living by my moms rules. which is mostly tell her when I plan on being home, excluding summer and breaks, always have a job and go to school. And fix things around the house when they break. If it means I get free food and living expenses, im fine with rules.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
We cant blame parents for everything.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
There comes a point where "Spoiled" is no longer the fault of the parents. We cant blame parents for everything.

 Asherian Command wrote:
Yeah! My generation everyone!