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SCRA News and Amendments (Proposed and Actual)
Our collection of News and Essays:
- Pro se soldier had submitted copy of orders and had requested stay. Court agreed to hold telephonic hearing at 1:30 p.m, but did not call case until 3:30 p.m. at which time soldier was unavailable. Court raised child support and, when increased amount was not paid, issued contempt order. Court of Appeals reversed all and remanded.
- SSN Numbers are now randomly assigned as of June 25, 2011. No longer will you be able to determine where a SSN was issued by looking at digits. Click for details: www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/randomizationfaqs.html
- Utah Couple Sue Bank For Not Lowering Interest Rate
- In light of U.S. Bancorp’s pending lawsuit, its spokesman Tom Joyce admitted the bank erred in not reducing the interest rate on the Nehrings’ car loan from 10.14 percent to 6 percent soon after Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Nehring was deployed to Iraq in 2010.
- The bank will now retroactively reduce the interest rate and credit the account. However, the Nehrings wish to pursue their action to resolve the problem for the many other military families in similar situations.
- The 11th Wing Legal Office provides free legal advice on personal civil legal matters to active and retired military members and their dependents.
- The new walk-in hours are Tuesdays from 2PM to 3:30PM and Thursdays from 10AM to 11:30AM.
- In Richmond, a court order demands that any discovery related to a US Army Reserve recently sent to Iraq be postponed.
- The case involves an Eastern Kentucky University student, whose death occurred due to a collision with a train conducted by Matt Lasters, a US Army Reserve now on active duty.
- The 2010 SCRA update allows for consumers to sue when lenders do not affirmatively state whether or not a debtor is on active military duty.
- Subsidiaries of Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will pay Iraq and Afghanistan military veterans $22 million to settle mortgage foreclosure claims.
- The subsidiaries wrongfully foreclosed on about 180 service members. As part of the settlement, employees of the subsidiaries are required to attend SCRA training sessions.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest US bank, has removed David Lowman from his mortgage chief position after JPMorgan settled to pay $56 million to active duty service members.
- The bank had not reduced mortgage rates for deployed soldiers and had foreclosed on 27 service members.
- The Protecting Servicemembers from Mortgage Abuses Act, introduced in March and spearheaded by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), seeks to push for compliance with SCRA.
- The bill proposes doubling the criminal penalties for foreclosure and eviction protection violations and extending the period of foreclosure protection after returning from deployment from 9 months to 24 months.
- Complementing SCRA, the Military Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) provides servicemembers with foreclosure help and financial aid.
- A Citigroup initiative to increase consideration for veterans with financial difficulties amid the economic environment is reducing existing mortgage interest rates by 2.5 percent for two years for wounded or disabled servicemembers returning from deployment or their surviving spouses.
- Fighting Fraud in Bankruptcy Act, introduced in May by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), would require mortgage lenders to certify foreclosures are in compliance with SCRA.
- The bill seeks to authenticate the authority of the Executive Office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee (EOUST) to fight creditor fraud.
- Revised examination procedures for SCRA issued in May by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
- Effective September 1, 2011 in Texas, the property code will require notice sent to debtors in default stating the debtor to assert his or her rights as a servicemember or spouse of a servicemember.
- The law, which was sponsored by Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio), seeks to provide servicemembers with protection from homeowners associations foreclosing for overdue membership fees.
- Changes in Reporting under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act - Active Duty Termination Date Reporting October 2009
- Judge's Guide
- Military Spouses Residency Relief Act - PL111-97 Effective November 11, 2009 amended the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
- Allows military spouses who move out of a state with their servicemember under military orders to have the option to continue to claim the same state of domicile even though temporarily living in other state where servicemembers spouse is stationed.
- Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009 - HR 3949 November 2009 - Not Yet Law
- Would give the government or individuals to sue businesses or people that violate a servicemember's member’s legal or financial protections under the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. The government can seek penalties of up to $110,000, and a service member can seek monetary damages for violations.
- Servicemembers may cancel service contracts, cell phones, including family plans; retail and vehicle leases; and utilities, Internet and cable services without termination fees, even if family members names are also on contracts.
- Burial Rights of parents beside their children in veterans cemeteries if military sons/daughters have no dependents
- Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Klaeser v. Milton, No. 2080722;
- Held it was harmless error for trial court to grant default judgment against active servicemember, even though no SCRA Affidavit was submitted. Default judgments under the act are voidable, rather than void, and that servicemember offered no explanation for waiting five months to apply for the court for relief after she became aware of the action and, consequently, did not demonstrate that her military service materially affected her ability to defend the action.
- California Law Protects Servicemember Parents' Custodial Rights;
- An organization named Fathers and Families helped an active duty servicemember retain his child custody rights.
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D.C. Registered Agent, Inc. 1120 20th St NW #S-300-RLK Washington, DC 20036 Tel. (202) 462-0600
Copyright 2012 - D.C. Registered Agent, Inc | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
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The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ("SCRA", successor to the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act) accords certain protections and rights to individuals who are either on active military duty or recently retired. The purpose of the Act is to allow the servicemembers to perform their valuable duties without the worry of civil prosecution, foreclosure or eviction under most circumstances. Before a court will permit such actions, the court will require certification that a military search has been conducted to confirm that the individual is not entitled to the protections of the Act. Proof of that search is often in the form of a military affidavit, "non-military affidavit", or "nonmilitary affidavit". The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service (SCRACVS) is available on-line and permits SCRA searches even if no social security number or date of birth of the individual is available. In addition, SCRACVS provides full tracking, covers recently retired personnel, and provides unequivocal responses. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC or DMDC.osd) is more limited as a resource because it is unable to conduct an unequivocal active duty military search unless a Social Security Number (SSN) is provided. If a d.o.b. alone is provided, the DMDC will issue a strong disclaimer indicating that the military certification is not guaranteed if no SSN was provided. Some courts will not accept a response with such a disclaimer. The SCRACVS response generally does not include this disclaimer. Information secured from us does not constitute a "consumer report" as that term is defined in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq. (FCRA). Accordingly, information secured from us may not be used in whole or in part as a factor in determining eligibility for credit, insurance, employment or another permissible purpose under the FCRA. Due to the nature of the origin of public record information, the public records and commercially available data sources used in reports may contain errors. Source data is sometimes reported or entered inaccurately, processed poorly or incorrectly, and is generally not free from defect. Our product and services aggregate and report data, as provided by the public records and commercially available data sources, and are not the source of the data.
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