Military Law, Commercial Law & Contracts

Spotlight On The SCRA (Part 2 Of 3): Ensuring Compliance

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/20/2013

Recent enforcement activity has demonstrated the agencies have taken to viewing the SCRA as a strict liability statute. This shift in interpretation makes financial institutions legally responsible for compliance with the...more

Export Control Reform to Move Wide Array of Aircraft Parts off the Munitions List

by John Burke | BakerHostetler on 5/15/2013

The Departments of State and Commerce published final rules in the Federal Register on April 16, 2013, moving export control jurisdiction from the State Department to the Commerce Department for a wide range of aircraft and...more

Spotlight On The SCRA (Part 1 of 3): Increased Enforcement Activity

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/13/2013

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is designed to provide protection for military members as they enter active duty. The Act has origins dating back to the Civil War, but was first solidified in 1940 with the passage...more

CFPB Issues Semiannual Servicemember Complaint Report

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/13/2013

On May 1, the CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs published its Semi-Annual Complaint Report, which states that the volume of complaints from servicemembers, veterans, and their families has steadily increased since the...more

U.S. Export Control Reforms to Become Effective

by Joseph D. Gustavus | Miller Canfield on 5/13/2013

The first significant reforms to the U.S. export control regulations in International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) are about to take effect....more

At-Will Employment

by Michael Kelsheimer | Looper Reed & McGraw, P.C. on 5/10/2013

What does “at-will” employment mean: You might be inclined to think that it means that employees serve at the will of the master, or at the master’s pleasure. While this historically makes sense, “at-will” employment is...more

Think the Government’s Claim Against You Is Time-Barred? Not So Fast!

by Joshua Sherman, Claude Tusk | Dechert LLP on 5/9/2013

When a company understands that the United States Government may have a claim against it, the company’s directors and officers are usually very aware of the applicable statute of limitations and the passage of time. When the...more

The SCRA and Motor Vehicles - Auto Loans Vroom into the Forefront of Enforcement

by King & Spalding on 5/8/2013

In 2003, Congress passed the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA or “Act”), which updated and replaced the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. The SCRA has been described as the “greatest single statutory source of...more

CFPB issues report on servicemember complaints

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/3/2013

The CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs has issued a report on complaints submitted by servicemembers, veterans or their spouses and dependents (“servicemember complaints”) over the period from January 1, 2012 through...more

TBTF Servicing: Another Issue for Originators to Consider

by Russell Koonin, Robert Siegel | Bilzin Sumberg Mortgage Repurchase Group on 4/18/2013

As widely reported recently, close to 1.2 million borrowers (about 30% of the more than 3.9 million households that faced foreclosure proceedings by the 11 leading financial institutions in 2009 and 2010), had to battle...more

How To Demonstrate Ethics And Compliance – Earn It, Re-Earn It And Re-Evaluate It

by Thomas Fox on 4/15/2013

What should your company do if it finds itself in a situation where some of its senior leadership has engaged in conduct which violates its own ethical standards or external legal standard such as the Foreign Corrupt...more

DOJ Announces Payments Under 2011 SCRA Settlements

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/12/2013

On April 4, the DOJ announced that two mortgage servicers will pay a combined $39 million to 316 servicemembers pursuant to SCRA settlements from 2011. Those settlement agreements resolved allegations that the mortgage...more

Fannie Mae Announces Numerous Servicing Policy Changes

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/9/2013

On April 3, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-07, which outlines policy updates regarding (i) lender-placed property insurance requirements, (ii) military indulgence reporting and reimbursement...more

Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictment For Alleged Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Violations

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/4/2013

On March 28, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama announced that a federal grand jury had returned a two-count indictment against a used car dealer for violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)....more

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: Provisions Affecting Banking Institutions

by Angela Beblo, Brienne Marco | Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC on 3/25/2013

According to December 2012 data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Gulf War Era veterans, hovering around eight percent, remains higher than the national rate. Over the last decade, more...more

Obama Administration Moves Forward With Export Control Reform

by Stephan Becker, Benjamin Cote, Christopher R. Wall | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 3/18/2013

On March 7 and 8, 2013, President Obama took two important steps to further U.S. export control reform. First, the President notified Congress of the proposed transfer of certain items relating to aircraft and gas turbine...more

Alert: Canada Updating its Controls Over Exports and Technology Transfers

by John Boscariol on 2/15/2013

The Canadian government has announced a number changes to Canada’s Export Control List (ECL), which sets out the goods, services and technology subject to export and technology transfer controls that include permit and...more

Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds Standing In Servicemember Proceeding Requires Evidence Of Mortgagee Status

by BuckleySandler LLP on 1/25/2013

On January 14, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) reversed a Land Court decision and held that a trustee lacked standing to bring a servicemember proceeding because the trustee was not the clear holder of either...more

President Signs Bill Enhancing Enforcement Of The Military Lending Act

by BuckleySandler LLP on 1/14/2013

On January 2, President Obama signed H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013, which includes provisions that enhance federal enforcement of the Military Lending Act (MLA). The MLA (i)...more

Leadership in the Compliance Function – Do You Encourage or Stifle?

by Thomas Fox on 1/7/2013

There are many ways for a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) to exercise leadership in not only the compliance function but also across the many disciplines in which compliance impacts in any corporation. In this Sunday’s New...more

Congress passes bill giving CFPB authority to enforce Military Lending Act and creating civil liability for violations

by Alan S. Kaplinsky | Ballard Spahr LLP on 12/28/2012

The 2013 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 4310), currently awaiting signature by President Obama, makes several changes to the Military Lending Act. Last week, both the House and Senate agreed to the conference report....more

Dismissal of Putative Class Action Lawsuit for Alleged Violations of the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act

by Keith S. Anderson, Robert Maddox, Michael R. Pennington | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 12/12/2012

In a putative class action handled by Robert Maddox, Mike Pennington, and Keith Anderson, the Northern District of Alabama recently dismissed a lawsuit for alleged violations of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”)....more

Veterans and Franchising

by Peter Silverman | Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP on 11/26/2012

This past Veterans Day, franchising continued to extended its warm embrace to veterans. For better and for worse, which is my topic. For Veterans Day in 2011, the International Franchise Association launched an...more

Student Loans: Some Issues to Consider

by Cozen O'Connor on 11/2/2012

Although these are not the only aspects of student loan policy that will come up in the next legislative session, these issues will drive the discussion regarding student loans. Student loan debt is being reported as the...more

CFPB issues report on servicemember student loan debt

by Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/25/2012

A new CFPB report titled “The Next Front? Student Loan Servicing and the Cost to Our Men and Women in Uniform” focuses on repayment issues faced by servicemembers with private and federal student loans. One of the report’s...more

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Military Law › Commercial Law & Contracts