Landlords in Virginia who allegedly obtained unlawful court judgments against military tenants and charged improper lease termination fees have agreed to pay a $1.59 million settlement - the largest ever against a landlord for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
“The incredible sacrifices our servicemembers make when they deploy and move frequently should never create financial or legal hardships for them,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This settlement helps ensure that these men and women and honor for - not disadvantaged by - their military service, and that servicemembers' rights are protected going forward.”
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The SCRA provides legal rights to protect servicemembers and their families from eviction, property repossession, and court judgments against them while performing active duty service. Reserve and National Guard troops and their families also have rights during times of activation.
(For full details on SCRA coverage of all types, visit this online guide, made possible by a partnership between MOAA and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.)
Under the settlement in Virginia, PRG Real Estate Management and several related entities will pay $1.49 million to compensate 127 servicemembers who had 152 unlawful default judgments entered against them. The entities will also pay $35,000 to compensate 10 servicemembers who were charged early lease termination fees in violation of the SCRA.
PRG will pay a civil penalty of about $62,000 to the U.S. Treasury, repair the credit of affected servicemembers, provide training to its employees, and develop policies consistent with the SCRA.
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In a statement provided to Stars and Stripes and other media outlets, PRG said it “identified a specific issue with its training policies as the root cause of the issue and corrected it long before the investigation was completed,” and that the company “enjoyed a good working relationship with the DOJ to get this issue resolved and is committed to rectifying these circumstances.”
Since 2011, the Department of Justice has obtained more than $470 million in relief for more than 119,000 servicemembers.
Amanda Dolasinski is MOAA's staff writer. She can be reached at amandad@moaa.org. Follow her on Twitter @AmandaMOAA.
