MORRISTOWN, N.J. ― A northern New Jersey honor student who says her parents kicked her out of the house when she turned 18 is now suing them, asking a court to make them support her and pay for her college.
A judge in Morristown has scheduled a hearing Tuesday in the lawsuit filed last week by Rachel Canning, who turned 18 in October.
Canning’s father, retired Lincoln Park police Chief Sean Canning, tells The Daily Record of Parsippany that his daughter voluntarily left home because she didn’t want to abide by reasonable household rules, such as being respectful, keeping a curfew and doing some chores.
She’s been living in Rockaway Township with the family of her best friend. The newspaper reports that the friend’s father, former Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino, is funding the lawsuit. (A freeholder essentially is an elected council person or commissioner.)
Inglesino told the newspaper that he and his wife decided to fund the lawsuit because they fear Canning will lose opportunities for a strong education and a happy future without her parents’ contributions.
A cheerleader and lacrosse player who hopes to become a biomedical engineer, Canning is seeking immediate financial support and wants to force her parents to pay for her college education. She also wants a judge to declare that she’s non-emancipated and dependent as a student on her parents for support.
