DMDC Military Searches - SCRA News and Proposed Laws

SCRA News and Amendments (Proposed and Actual)

Our collection of News and Essays:

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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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. alon e 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.