Utah Service Members’ Civil Relief Act

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects a service member on federal orders. It does not protect a National Guard member called out by a governor under state authority. Chapter 39A-6 is Utah's answer to that gap, and it is more complete than most state versions. Who it covers, and this is the whole point of the chapter. Section 39A-6-101: "'Service member' means any member of the Utah National Guard or Utah State Defense Force serving on active military service in an organized military unit." The trigger throughout is "state military service". Section 39A-6-102 states the principle: "Military members of the National Guard or the Defense Force, when ordered to state military service by the governor have the same rights and protections as provided by federal law for activation to federal military service. Proper application of this chapter shall suspend or postpone actions upon certain obligations until 60 days after discharge from active, full-time state military service." Note the 60-day tail. Protections do not end the day you are released; they run 60 days past discharge from active, full-time state military service. "Dependent" is defined broadly in section 39A-6-101 as "the spouse and children of a service member or any other individual dependent upon the service member for support", and "interest" includes "service charges, renewal charges, fees, or any other charges in respect to any obligation or liability", which stops a lender recharacterising interest as a fee. The interest cap. Section 39A-6-111: an obligation bearing interest above six percent a year, incurred before entry into state military service, "may not, during any part of the period of state military service, bear interest at a rate in excess of six percent per year" unless the court, on the obligee's application, finds the service member's ability to pay is not materially affected. Same figure as the federal Act, and it applies only to pre-service debt. Foreclosure and repossession need a court order. Section 39A-6-115: a creditor under a mortgage contract entered into before the service member's entry into state military service "may not foreclose on the mortgage or repossess the property for nonpayment or any breach occurring during the service member's state military service without an order from a court of competent jurisdiction." Section 39A-6-114 does the same for an installment contract for the purchase of real or personal property. Eviction, with a dollar figure that has not moved. Section 39A-6-113: a landlord "may not evict or take and hold property of a service member or the service member's dependents for nonpayment of rent during the period of state military service if the rent on the premises occupied by the service member or the service member's dependents is less than $2,400 per month" without a court order. That $2,400 is the one number in the chapter to treat with caution. The federal Act's equivalent threshold is indexed annually and is now well above that figure, so a Utah Guard member on state orders paying more than $2,400 a month in rent falls outside this protection while a federally activated member at the same rent would be inside the federal one. The Utah figure is not indexed on the face of the section. Storage liens, which is an unusually specific protection. Section 39A-6-117: a person may not foreclose or enforce a lien for storage of "household goods, furniture, or personal effects of a service member in state military service" during the service and for 60 days after termination or discharge, except on a prior court order. If you put your household in storage before a state activation, that lien cannot be enforced against you while you are gone. Court process protections. Section 39A-6-104 lets a default judgment entered during state military service or within 30 days after its termination be set aside where the service member was prejudiced in making a defence. Section 39A-6-105 lets the court stay proceedings on its own motion where a party is a service member who may be adversely affected, and on written request unless the court determines otherwise. Section 39A-6-108 stays execution of a judgment or order unless the court determines on the record that the ability to comply is not materially affected. Section 39A-6-109 sets the duration of any stay at "the period of state military service plus 60 days after its termination or any part of that time period", and lets a plaintiff proceed against codefendants with leave of the court. Limitation periods stop running. Section 39A-6-110: the period of state military service "is not included in computing any period limited by law, rule, or order for the bringing of any action or proceeding in any court, board, bureau, commission, department, or other agency of government by or against any individual in state military service" or their heirs, executors, administrators or assigns. That protects a claim you could not bring as much as one brought against you. Fines and penalties. Section 39A-6-106: where compliance with a contract is stayed, no fine or penalty accrues for failure to comply during the stay, and even without a stay a court may relieve enforcement of a penalty where the service member was in state military service and their ability to pay or perform was materially affected. The provision that protects your credit file. Section 39A-6-107: applying for or receiving a stay, postponement or suspension under the chapter "may not be used for" a determination by any lender or other person that the service member is unable to pay a civil obligation in accordance with its terms, and for further purposes the section enumerates. Using these rights cannot be turned into evidence that you are a bad credit risk. Dependents can invoke it too. Section 39A-6-112: dependents of a service member in state military service "are entitled to the benefits accorded to service members... under the provisions of Sections 39A-6-113 through 39A-6-117 upon application to a court", unless the court finds their ability to comply has not been materially impaired by the service member's state military service. So the eviction, installment contract, mortgage, relief application and storage lien protections reach the family, on application. How to invoke it. Section 39A-6-116: a service member may apply to a court for relief "at any time during the service member's period of state military service or within 60 days after discharge or termination" in respect of any obligation incurred before the period of military service. Section 39A-6-103 lets the adjutant general make rules to implement the chapter. Two cautions. First, everything here turns on state military service ordered by the governor. If you are on federal Title 10 orders, the federal Act is your instrument and it is broader. Section 71A-8-105, subsection 2 separately gives Guard and State Defense Force members ordered to state service "the same rights and protections as provided by federal law for activation to federal military service" for employment purposes. Second, most of these protections are not automatic: the recurring phrase is "without an order from a court" or "upon application to a court", so they work by being raised. Tell the creditor, the landlord or the court in writing that you are on state military service, and do it before the 60 days run out. The chapter was renumbered and amended by chapter 373 of the 2022 general session, which reorganised Utah's National Guard and Militia Act.