# R.O. Teen sues parents for ...aw fuck it

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 4, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810 "2014-03-04T05:55:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 19\
**Page:** 11

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**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/201 "2014-03-10T20:38:07Z")

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> [@CannyDan](#):
>
> Truancy is almost always a big deal. Even if the course work is already known and the child isn’t benefitting much from the materials being presented, truancy isn’t an acceptable reaction to boredom in the classroom. It means “not in school at all, but out somewhere doing something not sanctioned by school or parents”. Sometimes, rarely, a school may not accept some reason for absence that the parents find sufficient. I knew parents who took their middle schooler to Washington, D.C. for three days of museum tours and a meeting with a congressman. The school called the absences “unacceptable”. But that surely doesn’t seem to be the case here. These look like plain old “skipped school because I wanna” problems.
> 
> As for the school fees, perhaps the parents’ resistance is to paying them to the daughter when their obligation is almost certainly to the school. Private schools normally make contract with parents or legal guardians, not with minor children. And perhaps the school isn’t (as far as we know) pursuing collection because the amount due may depend upon the circumstances of the child’s return (or not) to school, the amount of remedial work required, and her arrangements for graduation. For all we know, the school may have verbal or even written assurance from the parents that they intend to make good on their obligation as soon as the messy situation is resolved.

One day’s truancy is less of a big deal than two or five or ten or whatever. My point is that getting suspended for truancy doesn’t automatically mean it’s necessarily a lot of truancy.

I’m not sure why the suit asks for the money to be paid to the daughter - has she already borrowed money to pay the current fees, perhaps?

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**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/202 "2014-03-10T22:51:26Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Those are the quasi-contract/promissory estoppel theories **jtgain** is referring to: if you do something, or refrain from doing something you have the right to do in reliance on another person’s promise, that promise may become a binding agreement (even if the promisor did not intend to bind himself.)

Yes, but she’s a minor, or was anyway. Unless she could convince her parents to sue themselves on her behalf, I don’t think she can use a contract argument.

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**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/203 "2014-03-10T23:08:14Z")

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> [@lance\_strongarm](#):
>
> But that’s not what kayaker is saying. He’s saying ALL bad kids can ALWAYS be blamed on their parents. That’s bullshit. Kids sometimes just go bad no matter how good the relationship is or how good the parents were.

I believe this is also true, but which one is true in this case is impossible to figure out from this distance.

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**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/204 "2014-03-11T01:00:49Z")

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> [@SciFiSam](#):
>
> One day’s truancy is less of a big deal than two or five or ten or whatever. My point is that getting suspended for truancy doesn’t automatically mean it’s necessarily a lot of truancy.

I’m happy to accept the scale your first sentence offers – 1 \< 2 \< 5 \< 10 etc. And I can also agree in the abstract that “a lot” is subject to varying definitions. But we know that this girl was truant “a lot” by the only measurement that mattered here – that of the school itself, which suspended her. The parents seem to be quite reasonably upset that their daughter violated truancy rules, not of their making, but proffered by the school. Are you suggesting that they should accept this behavior as not enough truancy to matter?

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**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/205 "2014-03-11T08:37:31Z")

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> [@CannyDan](#):
>
> I’m happy to accept the scale your first sentence offers – 1 \< 2 \< 5 \< 10 etc. And I can also agree in the abstract that “a lot” is subject to varying definitions. But we know that this girl was truant “a lot” by the only measurement that mattered here – that of the school itself, which suspended her. The parents seem to be quite reasonably upset that their daughter violated truancy rules, not of their making, but proffered by the school. Are you suggesting that they should accept this behavior as not enough truancy to matter?

No, we don’t know that. That was my point. Private schools have their own rules and some jump very quickly to exclusions.

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**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/206 "2014-03-11T09:23:11Z")

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> [@SciFiSam](#):
>
> No, we don’t know that. That was my point. Private schools have their own rules and some jump very quickly to exclusions.

Cite please.

I should add that I’ve always found it rather hilarious that when kids don’t want to go to school, schools punish them by telling them…they can’t go to school.

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**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/207 "2014-03-11T16:14:41Z")

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> [@SciFiSam](#):
>
> No, we don’t know that. That was my point. Private schools have their own rules and some jump very quickly to exclusions.

The parents contracted with this school. The school has rules, including rules regarding truancy. The girl in question violated the school’s truancy rules and was suspended. The parents are upset with their daughter and wish to punish (or “restrict”) her. We know all these things.

What we do not know is the exact number of days she was truant.

Are you suggesting that, if the exact number was revealed to you, you would offer your own judgment on the sufficiency of said number to trigger your own ‘sanctions’ button? You’ll tell us if it meets your criteria as “very quickly” or not? 'Cause I’m not seeing that as at all relevant.

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/208 "2014-03-12T18:57:25Z")

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Rachel Canning, ‘spoiled’ N.J. teen, [goes home to parents](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/rachel-canning-spoiled-n-teen-home-parents-article-1.1719110)

> [@](#):
>
> The New Jersey teen who tried to force her parents to pay her bills has finally returned home, her parents’ lawyer announced.
> 
> Although her lawsuit hasn’t officially been withdrawn, the 18-year-old honor student has “reunited with her parents and siblings,” attorney Angelo Sarno said in a statement.

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**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/209 "2014-03-12T21:56:00Z")

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> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Rachel Canning, ‘spoiled’ N.J. teen, [goes home to parents](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/rachel-canning-spoiled-n-teen-home-parents-article-1.1719110)

Couldn’t squeeze six and a half bills a week out of the lawyer-dude, huh? 😃

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**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/210 "2014-03-13T00:22:44Z")

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Cruel and unusual punishment for the parents.

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**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/211 "2014-03-13T00:35:09Z")

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Her lawyer is saying the parents are “pressuring” her to drop the suit. Well, yeah.

She wants to be dependent on them after all. They can pressure her to do stuff. Like, say, not sue them when she’s living in their home.

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**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/212 "2014-03-13T13:01:07Z")

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Wow, her parents are obviously much nicer and more forgiving than I am. One of my own personal boundaries is that no one who is suing me gets to sleep in my house.

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/213 "2014-03-13T13:20:32Z")

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> [@PunditLisa](#):
>
> Yes, but she’s a minor, or was anyway. Unless she could convince her parents to sue themselves on her behalf, I don’t think she can use a contract argument.

Contracts cannot be enforced against minors\*, but minors can enforce contracts against the other party.

\*that wouldn’t matter in this case anyway, since she is now 18. A contract entered into a minor is voidable at the minor’s election, but once the minor reaches the age of majority it becomes ratified and is no longer voidable unless explicitly indicated.

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/214 "2014-03-13T13:55:02Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Contracts cannot be enforced against minors\*, but minors can enforce contracts against the other party.
> 
> \*that wouldn’t matter in this case anyway, since she is now 18. A contract entered into a minor is voidable at the minor’s election, but once the minor reaches the age of majority it becomes ratified and is no longer voidable unless explicitly indicated.

Studying for the bar, I see. 🙂

Correct.\* And further, this isn’t a contract as there is no consideration by the daughter, but merely a promise by the parents.

My hypo was that she might recover under quasi-contract theories.  
\*Don’t forget the “necessities” doctrine. If a minor enters into a contract for necessities, it is enforceable against the parents to the extent of the fair market value of the services/goods provided. Necessities are somewhat loosely defined and I had two multiple choice questions on the bar exam about it.

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/215 "2014-03-13T13:59:04Z")

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> [@jtgain](#):
>
> Studying for the bar, I see. 🙂

I thought he already took it.

But I agree that the comment just read like a perfect exam answer.

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**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/216 "2014-03-13T14:05:50Z")

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> [@Typo\_Negative](#):
>
> Wow, her parents are obviously much nicer and more forgiving than I am. One of my own personal boundaries is that no one who is suing me gets to sleep in my house.

They’re good parents. Sometimes you have to tolerate alot worse from your own children, especially when they’re teens. Someday their relationship may recover and they’ll be happy they were forgiving.

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/217 "2014-03-13T14:13:12Z")

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> [@jtgain](#):
>
> Studying for the bar, I see. 🙂

> [@Bricker](#):
>
> I thought he already took it.

I don’t even graduate until May. I know nothing! I merely happened to have the applicable law at the front of my brain because I just wrote a trial memo regarding a minor’s agreement to settle a workers’ compensation claim.

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**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/218 "2014-03-18T16:10:18Z")

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Just an update, she has [dropped her lawsuit](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/spoiled-new-jersey-teen-rachel-canning-drops-lawsuit-parents-article-1.1725361) against her parents.

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-o-teen-sues-parents-for-aw-fuck-it/682810/219 "2014-03-19T16:36:24Z")

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> [@Kimballkid](#):
>
> Just an update, she has [dropped her lawsuit](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/spoiled-new-jersey-teen-rachel-canning-drops-lawsuit-parents-article-1.1725361) against her parents.

In a news article that called her “spoiled” and a “brat”. About as fair and balanced as Fox News.

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