12. How should active military service affect the adequacy of notice? At least since the Civil War, Congress has recognized the inability of active-duty servicemembers to discharge their civil legal obligations in the same ways as civilians. Among other things, a servicemember cannot obtain leave without a commanding officer’s permission and at any point might be deployed overseas. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, found at 50 U.S.C.

App. § 501, postpones or suspends proceedings that may lead to eviction, mortgage foreclosure, the entry of a default judgment, or the sale of stored goods to pay for storage liens. See Beblo & Marco, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: Background, Provisions and Why Compliance Is Important, 66 Consumer Fin. L.Q. Rep. 106 (2012). Section 521 indicates that if a servicemember has not appeared, the court is obligated to determine if the absent party is in the military before any adverse action can be taken. If that is the case, then the court cannot enter a default judgment without first appointing the servicemember an attorney.

The Act also bars self-help creditor remedies, such as nonjudicial foreclosure. Should it matter if the servicemember had notice of the proceeding? See 50 U.S.C. App. § 525(c).