Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> Lawbeat

Legal News

: Lawbeat

Soldiers in hock and a legal shield with holes

By Mark Obbie

Adam Hochberg has latched onto a hot issue in this NPR Morning Edition story today about the law's failure to protect military personnel serving in Iraq. The story has some problems, but deserves attention and praise nonetheless. At issue are debt-related disputes that service members' families find themselves in -- foreclosure on a home, or repossession of a car or other big purchase, after the spouse stuck at home falls behind on debt payments -- and the federal law that's supposed to protect service members' families from these problems. Hochberg's chief example has sued his lenders for foreclosing on his home and evicting his family while he served with the Army in Iraq, an alleged violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The suit provides a window into the broader issues. But two things mar the view. First, the anecdotal soldier has some messy facts in his case that make a violation of the law less than clear cut. Next, the sole justification for portraying the problem as fairly widespread (though Hochberg is careful not to claim it's growing) is a single lawyer who says he's handled hundreds of such cases. Neither problem is fatal to the story's credibility, but a little more reporting might have found a clearer example and better supporting stats.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on August 18, 2008 (boomark / email).