New Jersey woman sues her parents for college tuition

[Mitch Henessey]

Caitlyn's parents were young loves. Their marriage only lasted two and a half years but, the two say, they amicably parented to give their daughter the best life they could.

Caitlyn's parents describe their daughter as a typical rebellious teen.

"Instead of following our rules, she decided she is going to leave her mother's house, where she was living, and move in with her grandparents," said Michael.

And that's where the trouble started.

"Caitlyn did not voluntarily leave the home. She was thrown out by her mother," said Rochester.

And the relationship crumbled.

Caitlyn's grandmother, Angela Ricci, says, "They just don't want to pay because they have to pay by the middle of the week. The balance they owe. This has been going on for two years."

It's interesting to note that her grandparents are the ones who paid for the attorney to sue their own son, Caitlyn's father Michael.

The grandparents' brief comments paint a very different picture of the private war being waged inside this family.

Action News is also learning the rift stated when her parents say Caitlyn got kicked out of an internship program.

Maura explains, "From the time Caitlyn was a teenager she was a challenging child, but I think all teenagers are."

They also say Caitlyn bought a new car after she moved out, and filed her suit against her parents for money.

"I think she just wants money. She wants us to pay for her education. She feels this is owed to her," said Maura.

Caitlyn turned to attorney Andrew Rochester to represent her in the lawsuit. He spoke with us on Caitlyn's behalf.

"Caitlyn really is a good girl. She is the nicest, sweetest girl. All she wants is to go to college," said Rochester.

And he paints a very different picture of the family's dynamic.

"They questioned her morality. They accused her of awful, awful things," said Rochester.

Caitlyn's parents joined together and filed a motion to emancipate their estranged adult daughter but on the Friday before Mother's Day, Maura says the court papers arrived - she was suing them.

"Did I ever expect my daughter to sue me? No, of course not. It's heart breaking," said Maura.

A judge, turning to a New Jersey legal precedent known as 'Newburgh' that says divorced parents may be required to contribute to their children's education, no matter their age.

The judge ruled in Caitlyn's case her parents have to pay $16,000 this year.

"The law in New Jersey is so clear. It is cut and dry. The law says parents are supposed to contribute to their children's post-secondary expenses," said Rochester.

Maura and Michael say they were willing to pay for her education in state, in New Jersey, if she followed rules and lived at home.

"It is just unbelievable. I don't think there is any person there is not one adult or parent who can imagine that this can happen to them," said Maura.

However Caitlyn, who they say won't reply to their messages, applied to Temple University out of state and the only time they have seen her in the last two years is in a courtroom.

"I spend a lot of time looking at her, looking over trying to get eye contact and she won't look. All you want to do is grab her and shake her and look at her and tell her you love her and tell her we can work this out," said Maura.

This semester's bill for Temple was due Wednesday. Caitlyn's parents refused to pay, and now that bill is overdue.

"When he ruled that way, I said there is no way she is getting anything from me until we establish some kind of a relationship again," Michael said.

The parents are appealing the judge's decision.

We tried to reach out to the two judges in the case but the court told us:

"The code of judicial conduct in New Jersey is that judges do not comment on cases or their rulings."

Caitlyn's grandfather, Matthew Ricci, says, "It's the law. It's the law in New Jersey. Go check the law. And two judges said she has to pay."

http://6abc.com/education/young-nj-...rents-for-college-tuition/392148/#videoplayer

The he said/she said part of the story starts with Caitlyn's parents. According to McGarvey, she moved out of her house in February 2013 after a series of clashes over Caitlyn's rebellious attitude. In another report from Philly.com, the relationship "grew fragile," with a teenage Caityln. Ricci and McGarvey tried to enforce a stricter set of rules with chores, a curfew, and summer classes after they discovered Caitlyn was drinking. Although, Cailyn's lawyer has a different story. According to Rochester, Caitlyn was thrown out of her mother's home.

Whether you believe she's right or wrong, the law is on Caitlyn's side. According to New Jersey state law, divorced parents are responsible for contributing to their child's college education. Last year, Judge Thomas J. Shusted ordered Caityln's parents to split the tuition, as long as Caityln applied for eligible loans and scholarships, but McGarvey and Ricci insisted Caitlyn never made the effort to do so. Recently, Caitlyn's parents intentionally missed the court ordered deadline for payment, because they refused to pay up.

Of course, both sides paint a different picture for Caitlyn's personality. According to Rochester, Caitlyn is a nice and sweet girl, and she just wants to go to college. McGarvey describes Caitlyn as a rebellious teenager, who would throw a fit, whenever she didn't get everything she wanted. In a video for ABC News, Michael Ricci, Caitlyn's father, describes Caitlyn's standoffish attitude in the courtroom, with Caitlyn refusing to make eye contact. Caityln's grandparents (on her father's side of the family) are footing the bill for their granddaughter's legal fees, and they're supporting her decision to sue.

Caitlyn sounds like someone, who won't accept any sort of compromise. Everything has to be on her terms, and everything has to be EXACTLY the way she wants it, step by step with no exceptions.

There's a quote from Michael Ricci in an ABC News article, and Ricci said "She comes from two loving families and she was given what she wanted when she was growing up." I don't know the woman personally, but one reoccurring trend in all the articles related to this story is, Caitlyn's parents are willing to to have some middle ground with their daughter. On the other side of that, you can't say the same thing about Caitlyn.

Caitlyn has the law on her side, and there's no denying it. But in the grand scheme of things, we're looking at another story that adds more fuel to the fire for the perception of young Americans as spoiled brats with an undeserved sense of entitlement.

All thoughts and discussion regarding this article are welcome.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Caitlyn sounds like someone, who won't accept any sort of compromise. Everything has to be on her terms, and everything has to be EXACTLY the way she wants it, step by step with no exceptions.

Yes. Before I came to this line in your post, it's just what I was thinking. When discussing arguments and differences among people, it's easy to point to all kinds of sociological and psychological reasons, but often the problem is simpler: either one side (or both sides) are saying, in essence: "Do everything I want....in exactly the way I want it done....and gosh, things will be just great!" Sure!

All of us see examples of this every day. In this case, we have no idea what the family dynamic over the years was really like, but the whole thing reads like a kid who has always waned her own way. Obviously, there are many possibilities as to who's who and what they're really like, yet through it all, I keep thinking that parents who were too strict during the child's formative years are still preferable to ones who didn't give a damn and enforced little or no discipline.....although the kid might totally disagree with that view.

At any rate, I was surprised to learn that the law in New Jersey requires parents to pay for a child's secondary education, having always believed the parent's financial obligation stops when the child finishes high school. I figured most parents would foot the bill for college, but weren't required to.

At any rate, the law's the law......this Caitlyn person has pinned her parents legally to the mat.....and parents everywhere are shown if they have an eternally rebellious child whom they want to punish for their transgressions by not paying for their secondary education.......they can't.

 

[Daggdag]

How about she get loans and apply for grants, and get a job like other college students. She sounds like a lazy bitch.

If she chose to leave home, and is legally esmancipated, her parents legally do not owe her a single thing.