Who’s in charge now, Mom?
Entitled teen Rachel Canning had an extra bounce in her step — with her deflated mother in tow — as she left her parents’ New Jersey home for school Thursday morning.
Life was back to normal for the 18-year-old honors student who decided to return to the home in Lincoln Park after “amicably” settling a lawsuit she filed against her parents for child support and tuition, her folks said.
Rachel’s lawyer, Tanya Helfand, said the teen should not have gone home and asked a judge to grant her a court-appointed guardian.
Rachel Canning smiles during a hearing March 4.AP“Now, after speaking with her yesterday, she said she is waiving her complaint and is receiving no promises or consideration in return,” Helfand said in papers filed Wednesday.
“It is critical that if Rachel does dismiss this matter, that it be done of her own free will and not due to the extreme pressure of her parents and the media.”
Rachel said she moved out of the home several months ago because they were abusive. She was living with family friends who were funding the case.
Meanwhile, her parents argued in court papers that they shouldn’t have to pay her college tuition because her bulimia might prevent her from attending classes.
“If she is still suffering from an eating disorder, she may not be permitted to enroll in college at all,” attorney Laurie Rush-Masuret wrote on behalf of Rachel’s parents.
“Thus, the relief sought, in fact, creates a hardship, as this expense may not be the defendants’ obligation at all.”
Rachel blamed the disease on her mother for calling her “porky” and “fat.”
The Morris Catholic HS senior has been accepted at the University of Vermont but wants to attend the University of Delaware.
Additional reporting by David K. Li
