The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with Folsom, California-based FPI Management Inc., a multifamily property management firm, in which the company will pay $74,087 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).
FPI was accused of imposing unlawful charges on nine servicemembers who exercised their right under the SCRA to terminate their apartment leases after they received military relocation orders. Under the settlement, which still must be approved by the court, FPI has agreed to pay a total of $51,587 to the servicemembers and a $22,500 civil penalty to the federal government. The company is also required to repair the servicemembers’ tenant database entries, implement new policies and procedures that comply with the SCRA and provide training to its employees on the SCRA.
“The right for servicemembers to terminate leases without penalty when military orders send them elsewhere is a critical protection for people who already sacrifice so much,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to enforce federal civil rights laws to ensure that paying rent for housing they no longer need is not another sacrifice servicemembers must bear.”
Where the full terms of the Leases known to all parties that were parties of the Leases ???