Family Law
Employer on Hook for $1.17M in Child Support Fines
Posted Nov 30, 2007, 11:48 am CST
By Molly McDonough
In an unusual family law enforcement action in Illinois, the state supreme court has awarded a whopping $1.17 million to a mother who has fought for years to collect $12,000 in back child support.
Here's the twist. The father isn't the target of the bulk of the award. Rather, the father's employer is stuck with the bill for failing to pass along child-support payments that were deducted from his paychecks, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The employer—architect H.E. Miller Sr.—has a personal interest in the matter. He's the grandfather of the child.
Under Illinois law, custodial parents can seek fines of $100 for each day a child support payment is late. Pretty soon, $10,000 of late payments translated into $1.2 million. A trial court awarded the initial $1.17 million in 2004. But that decision was overturned by a 2-1 appellate decision last year. The Illinois Supreme Court's ruling (PDF) restores the award.
The Tribune notes that the fines have continued to mount for other late payments, making the award worth more than $2.1 million.