A New Jersey judge has denied the high school student suing her parents of immediate funds and payment for her private high school tuition.
Rachel Canning, who has filed suit against parents Elizabeth and Sean Canning, will not receive $650 a week in child support, nor will her estranged mother and father be forced to pay a debt of $5,306 owed to Morris Catholic High School, where the 18-year-old is currently an honor roll student, cheerleader and lacrosse player.
Morristown Superior Court Judge Peter Bogaard ruled on Tuesday that Rachel, who has accused her parents of abuse and claimed that her father engaged in "inappropriately affectionate" behavior, won't receive money for her living expenses and imminent college tuition.
According to the New York Daily News, Bogaard seems to recognize an independent examiner's evaluation of Rachel's home life, which previously described the teen as "spoiled."
"Do we want to establish a precedent where parents live in basic fear of establishing rules of the house?" Bogaard stated while reading his ruling on the emergency order that would award Rachel a weekly stipend of $650, plus full coverage of her tuition for school.
In her testimony, Rachel said her father told her that he saw her as "more than" just a daughter, but called her "fat" and "porky," which she said led her to develop an eating disorder.
Sean Canning also reportedly forced her to binge drink, Rachel said, sometimes waking her up in the dead of night to play beer pong.
But her parents, meanwhile, maintained that they kept a "stable, loving and nurturing environment" for Rachel, according to court papers obtained by the New York Daily News. They described their child as "rebellious," and said she didn't want to follow the basic rules of the home - following curfew, doing chores and not arguing with her two siblings among them. She also refused to sever ties with her boyfriend, who the parents said they thought wasn't good for Rachel.
"We love our child and miss her," Sean said in an interview with USA Today earlier this week. "This is terrible. It's killing me and my wife. We have a child we want home. We're not Draconian and now we're getting hauled into court. She's demanding that we pay her bills, but she doesn't want to live at home and she's saying, 'I don't want to live under your rules.'"
Rachel moved into friend Jaime Inglesino's home after she said she was kicked out of her parents' house when she turned 18 years old.
The judge has scheduled a follow-up hearing for April 22.
