© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Teen Who Tried to Sue Her Parents for Tuition Is Going to College...With a Scholarship

Teen Who Tried to Sue Her Parents for Tuition Is Going to College...With a Scholarship

"Decision made."

The New Jersey teen who made national headlines and was dubbed "spoiled" when she tried to sue her parents for tuition and child support after she moved out of their home, not wanting to follow their rules, has announced she's going to college.

High school student 18-year-old Rachel Canning in Morris County N.J. Superior Court in Morristown, NJ, suing her parents for financial support and college tuition after she claims they threw her out of the home. Her father, Sean, says Rachel left on her own. (Daily Record Staff Photographer/Bob Karp MOR 0304 Canning lawsuit) High school student 18-year-old Rachel Canning in Morris County N.J. Superior Court in Morristown, N.J., tried to sue her parents for financial support and college tuition after she claims they threw her out of the home. (Daily Record Staff Photographer/Bob Karp)

Rachel Canning returned to her parents home in mid-March, dropped the lawsuit she brought against them. She had been seeking tuition for her private high school as well as upcoming college fees. On Sunday, she posted on Facebook that she would be attending Western New England University in the fall to study biomedical engineering and noted that she received a scholarship to boot.

"Decision made," the 18-year-old wrote, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "WNE U class of 2018 BME Major w/ 56,000$ [sic] scholarship."

The Daily Record reported that a representative at the university in Massachusetts confirmed that Canning was accepted and it noted tuition and room and board total $47,560 for the 2014-2015 academic year.

State Superior Court Judge Peter Bogaard in March denied the teen's request for child support and to have her parents pay her remaining high school tuition. The judge sounded skeptical of some of the claims in the lawsuit, saying it could lead to teens "thumbing their noses" at their parents, leaving home and then asking for financial support.

"Are we going to open the gates for 12-year-olds to sue for an Xbox? For 13-year-olds to sue for an iPhone?" he asked at the time. "We should be mindful of a potentially slippery slope."

Canning had left her parents' house on Oct. 30, two days before she turned 18, after a tumultuous stretch during which her parents separated and reconciled and the teen began getting into uncharacteristic trouble at school. She claimed they threw her out, which they denied.

In court filings, Canning's parents, retired Lincoln Park police Chief Sean Canning and his wife, Elizabeth, said their daughter voluntarily left home because she didn't want to abide by reasonable household rules, such as being respectful, keeping a curfew, doing a few chores and ending a relationship with a boyfriend her parents said was a bad influence. They said that shortly before she turned 18, she told her parents that she would be an adult and could do whatever she wanted.

She said in her lawsuit that her parents are abusive, contributed to an eating disorder she developed and pushed her to get a basketball scholarship. They say they were supportive, helped her through the eating disorder and paid for her to go to a private school where she would not get as much playing time in basketball as she would have at a public school.

High school student 18-year-old Rachel Canning in Morris County N.J. Superior Court in Morristown, NJ, suing her parents for financial support and college tuition after she claims they threw her out of the home. Her father, Sean, says Rachel left on her own. March 4, 2014, Morristown, NJ, Daily Record Staff Photographer/Bob Karp MOR 0304 Canning lawsuit Rachel Canning's parents, Elizabeth and Sean Canning, disputed their daughter's claims and a judge sided with them in his first ruling. (Daily Record Staff Photographer/Bob Karp)

Rachel Canning had been living in Rockaway Township with the family of her best friend. The friend's father, former Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino, was paying for the lawsuit.

A day after Canning returned to the home of her parents of her own accord and without any financial stipulations, according to the family's lawyer, she dropped her lawsuit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?