Judge blasts ‘gross disrespect’ of teenager as she sues her parents for school fees

 
Michael Howie5 March 2014

A teenager suing her parents for financial support has been criticised by a judge after he read an expletive-laden answerphone message she left for her mother.

Rachel Canning, 18, wants her parents to pay $5,000 in high school tuition fees, and wants access to a fund set up for her to fund her university costs.

The cheerleader and lacrosse player claims her parents — retired police chief Sean Canning and his wife Elizabeth — kicked her out of the house in November last year after she turned 18.

At Morristown family court in New Jersey, Judge Peter Bogaard read an answerphone message left by Miss Canning in which she tells her mother: “I wanna shit all over your face”. He said: “Have you ever seen such gross disrespect for a parent? I don’t see it in my house.”

Her parents say she chose to leave, after refusing to accept simple rules, such as doing chores, and refusing to end a relationship with a boy her parents said was a bad influence.

Ms Canning, who lives in the town of Lincoln Park and attends Morris Catholic High School, claims her parents decided to cut her off “financially and emotionally” because she told school authorities about “verbal and physical abuse”.

The Cannings denied this and said: “We love our child and miss her. This is terrible. It’s killing me and my wife. We’re not draconian.”

The judge rejected Miss Canning’s claim for current financial support, but there will be a hearing next month over the university costs.

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