State v. C.R. and R.R.

Fifteen-year-old R.R. left his parents' home in 1984; his parents, C.R. and R.R. (defendants), said he left voluntarily rather than give up his homosexuality, while the boy claimed he had been forced out. He was later adjudged dependent on the State without objection from his parents, and Utah's Department of Family Services took temporary custody before returning him to his parents' care under supervision. The State (plaintiff) then sued the parents to recover about $1,159 it had spent supporting the boy, and the parents argued the boy had been emancipated, cutting off their support obligation; the juvenile court refused to apply the emancipation doctrine at all, and the parents appealed.