Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Facts

Even with the war in Iraq slowly winding down, the war in Afghanistan is heating up and other military deployments continue around the world. It is safe to say that in the modern American military, a soldier, sailor or airman could easily find themselves spending more of the military career outside of the United States than in it. This makes the terms of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (formerly known as the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act) more important than ever. This 70-year old law is, in many cases, all that protects military servicemen and women from court actions conduction in absentia.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has roots dating as far back as the Civil War. The U.S. Congress passed a law during that conflict that imposed an absolute moratorium on any civil court action against a serving soldier or sailor. All such actions were effectively postponed for the duration, which was especially important in the case of property foreclosures. A similar act was judged necessary for World War One, although it was not passed until 1918. It was then re-enacted in 1940, and some version of the law has been in effect ever since.The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act performs a singular function: it blocks any civil court action against a servicemember on active duty until that person can be reasonably expected to appear in court. The Act does this through three mechanisms. First, servicemembers can request a stay in civil proceedings. Second, they can block the re-opening of a default judgment in a civil proceeding. Finally, they can request a stay on the execution of a judgment in a civil action. Of course, a court must find that a soldier's or sailor's service really does prevent an appearance in court, but that typically only poses a problem for servicemembers if they are in the United States. Over the years, Congress has made many amendments to this fundamental provision, and it has always been in response to the courts interpreting it too narrowly.

As a result of these three privileges, it is effectively impossible to pursue civil action against servicemembers serving abroad against their will, so long as they are aware of the court action. If you are sued while serving a tour in Diego Garcia, nothing will happen until your tour is over. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is most often employed to defend against actions involving mortgages, credit card debt, back taxes and breaking rental leases.

If for some reason a servicemember does not receive word of the court action, and therefore neither that servicemember or their agent can do anything about it, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides a powerful remedy. Servicemembers can re-open any judgment made while they were out of the country, virtually at will, so long as they remain on active duty or filing within 90 days of their discharge.

Sources: military.com/benefits/legal-matters/scra/overview; hud.gov/offices/cpd/about/hudvet/library/scra.cfm