Though statistics are scarce, court
records and interviews with military and civilian lawyers suggest that
Americans heading off to war are sometimes facing distracting and
demoralizing demands from financial companies trying to collect on
obligations that, by law, they cannot enforce. Some cases involve
nationally prominent companies like Wells Fargo and Citigroup, though
both say they are committed to strict compliance with the law. The
problem, most military law specialists say, is that too many lenders,
debt collectors, landlords, lawyers and judges are unaware of the
federal statute or do not fully understand it. The law, the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, protects all active-duty military
families from foreclosures, evictions and other financial consequences
of military service. The Supreme Court has ruled that its provisions
must "be liberally construed to protect those who have been obliged to
drop their own affairs to take up the burdens of the nation." [more]
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