The former wife initiated proceedings against the former husband to enforce child-support provisions of their marital settlement agreement. It had been incorporated in the judgment dissolving their marriage.
The Trial Court ordered the former husband to pay the child support arrearage. It set his current child support obligation at $3,000 per month. It found him in contempt. It denied the former husband’s request to stay enforcement of the judgment pending appeal. Former husband appealed. He had wanted the child support provisions to be on hold during the appeal.
The Appellate Court held that, among other things, the enforcement of the judgment could not stay pending appeal.
750 ILCS 5/413(a) provides that “
[a]n order directing payment of money for support or maintenance of the spouse or the minor child or children shall not be suspended or the enforcement thereof stayed pending the appeal.”
The former husband also argues that section 413(a), by its own terms, applies to orders as opposed to judgments. He argues that their situation has a judgment, not an order. He observes that section 505(d) of the Act provides that “[a]ny new or existing child support order entered by the court under this Section shall be deemed to be a series of judgments against the person obligated to pay support thereunder.” Section 505(d) also provides that “[e]ach such judgment shall have the full force, effect, and attributes of any other judgment of this State, including the ability to be enforced.”
The former husband then reasons that by virtue of section 505(d), the court’s support order is a judgment. Since section 413(a) mentions only orders, the respondent concludes, it does not bar the stay of the order for the arrearage pending appeal. We find the former husband’s reasoning unpersuasive.
IRMO Ackerley, 333 Ill.App.3d 382.
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