A high school senior who sued her parents recently dismissed her complaint after a judge denied her request for high school tuition and current living expenses.
 
Rachel Canning, 18, of Lincoln Park, New Jersey, sued her parents, Sean and Elizabeth, for financial support and college tuition. In the lawsuit, Canning alleged that her parents forced her out of their home, leaving her to pay the remaining tuition for her last semester at her private high school, her current living and transportation expenses, her upcoming college tuition and reimbursement to her friend’s parents for legal fees. An honor student and cheerleader, Rachel said she left home because of emotional and psychological mistreatment, alleging, among other things, that her mother called her "fat" and "porky" and that her father threatened to beat her.
 
The parents countered that Rachel left home because she didn’t want to obey their rules. According to court documents, Rachel was suspended from school for truancy in October and her parents told her that she could no longer see her boyfriend who also was suspended from school. After her parents took away her car and phone privileges, Rachel skipped school again and decided to run away.
 
After receiving allegations that Rachel was being abused, New Jersey's Division of Child Protection and Permanency interviewed the teen, her parents and her two younger sisters, but it ultimately "determined that allegations of emotional abuse was unfounded," a letter from the agency states.
 
Superior Court Judge Peter A. Bogaard recently denied Rachel’s request for high school tuition and current living expenses. After a hearing date was set for the remaining claims, Rachel withdrew the lawsuit, prompting Judge Bogaard to rule that Canning's "decision to dismiss the litigation was a knowing and voluntary decision."
 
Angelo Sarno, the attorney representing Canning's parents, said in a written statement Tuesday that some level of normalcy has returned to the family. "The case is over. It's time to move on. The Cannings want nothing more than to resume their lives as a family," Sarno said.
 
—Source:  cnn.com