WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM OCTOBER 21-27, 2020 UCW 15
W hen a military servicemember
receives orders to deploy or move,
what happens to their lease or
mortgage? W hat happens to their
cable or internet bill? e local g ym
membership? e Servicemembers
Civil Relief Act steps in.
Since W WII, federal law has
protected America's servicemem-
bers from various civil penalties
through the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Civil Relief Act of 1940.
Faced with a new century and
new conf licts, Congress enacted
the Servicemembers Civil Relief
Act in 2003 to "provide for, streng-
then, and expedite the national
defense."
Congress designed the SCR A to
ease the financial burdens service-
members and their families face
by temporarily suspending certain
legal proceedings "that may adver-
sely affect the civil rights of ser-
vicemembers during their military
service."
W hat this means is that Federal
law shields active duty service-
members and their dependents in
four categories, (1) housing and
mortgages, (2) installment con-
tracts, (3) life insurance, and
(4) taxes.
The Attorney General can file a
federal lawsuit "against any person
who violated [the SCR A] or enga-
ge[d] in a violation that raises an
issue of public importance."
Individual servicemembers may
also enforce the SCR A's protec-
tions through a private action to
"obtain any appropriate . . . relief,"
including attorney's fees and other
damages. Under the SCR A, ser-
vicemembers can waive this pro-
tection if they choose to.
Many people may not realize
that North Carolina enacted its
version of the SCR A in late 2019.
North Carolina generally adop-
ted the provisions of the SCR A,
but expanded its protections to
National Guardsmen serving for,
or in, North Carolina "to the extent
that the servicemember's military
service materially affects the servi-
cemember's ability to comply with
his or her [civil] obligations."
Much like Congress' version of
the SCR A, North Carolina's ver-
sion protects servicemembers and
their dependents in the areas of
(1) consumer service contracts, (2)
evictions, (3) leases, and (4) stays
specific to civil actions.
The protections afforded to ser-
vicemembers by North Carolina's
version of the SCR A, unlike its
federal counterpart, are un-waiva-
ble. This is an essential distinction
because North Carolina's SCR A
safeguards service members from
even being placed in the position
of waiving their SCR A protections
(i.e., a payment plan offered at a
lower interest rate if the service
member waives the protections of
the SCR A).
North Carolina law treats kno-
wing violations of the SCR A as
unfair and deceptive trade practi-
ces, which allows the servicemem-
ber to recover treble (triple) dama-
ges and attorney's fees.
Servicemembers need to know
what protections are out there
when financial burdens hit due to
military service requirements. The
following links have great infor-
mation about those benefits and
resources:
https://w w w.justice.gov/service-
members/servicemembers-civil-
relief-act-scra
https://22.nclamp.gov/publica-
tions/take-1/the-servicemembers-
civil-relief-act/
If a servicemember needs assis-
tance related to suspected SCR A
violations, they should consider
consulting with an experienced
attorney.
Protecting those who serve
by REBECCA BRITTON
LEGALLY SPEAKING
REBECCA BRITTON, Cofounder
of Britton Law. COMMENTS?
Editor@upandcomingweekly.com.
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