Deciding to join the military is an honorable decision and one for which the entire country should be thankful. Without our military members the nation’s security would be at risk and the question about border control would be receiving even more attention. Unfortunately the pay for military personnel is not at the top of the pay grade, but military members can have just as much debt as civilians. This debt can quickly increase if a member is sent overseas and the payments are not tended to timely.
Being sued is never fun for anyone, but if you are not even in the country to defend a case against you the matter should never take place. Luckily there are rules against maintaining actions against active duty service members and if you are in the military it is important to know your rights. Among the protections given active duty military men and women is the prohibition that they be sued for debt collection or foreclosure while away. This is how it works:
- Plaintiffs are required to perform a military check when initiating a lawsuit against any person and if that check reveals a status of active duty the lawsuit is not supposed to proceed.
- The exception to this rule is if the lender asks the Court to appoint an attorney to represent the military member in their absence. This requires the appointed attorney to make every effort to contact the member to learn of any defense to the suit, and then allege that defense in the case.
- When a judgment is being presented to the Court for approval, the data printout regarding status as active duty or not must also be provided to the Court. The Judge will not grant a default judgment if the military check information shows the defendant is currently on active duty. This saves a judgment from being entered against you in your absence.
The law that protects active duty military members in this regard is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If you are active duty and have been sued, contact our office right away. We will take the appropriate action to stop the litigation and save your property. If you have been contacted by an attorney appointed to represent you, you should also call our office. Many times these attorneys are not experienced in this area of the law and may overlook an important issue.
For more information about the protections given active duty service members, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that work for you.
