Wrongfully accelerated arrears repayments lead to reversal of driver’s license suspension

In this case, the Court reversed Child Support Services’ suspension of a support obligor’s driver’s license because the agency had wrongfully accelerated the obligor’s arrears repayments without a court order.  The Court determined that, because accelerations of payments serve as a punishment, their use must be narrowly construed.  In reviewing the acceleration clause in one of the obligor’s support orders, the Court found it did not include “self-executing language” and it applied only to current support payment, not arrears repayments.