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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) \u2014 A St. Petersburg-based property management company was ordered to pay $60,000 to resolve allegations that it filed an unlawful eviction against an active-duty sailor.<\/p>\n
According to the Justice Department District of Middle Florida, Rental Marketing Solutions, LLC filed an eviction action for a property that the sailor had not lived in for several years.<\/p>\n
The DOJ said the company also filed a false affidavit stating he was not on active duty and obtained an eviction judgment against him while he was assigned to the USS Nimitz at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington.<\/p>\n
Because this eviction appeared on his background reports, the DOJ says a dozen or more landlords refused to rent to the sailor and his wife.<\/p>\n
This resulted in him living separately from his wife and rotating among temporary accommodations for four months, including sleeping on the berthed Naval ship with no heat.<\/p>\n
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires a plaintiff in a case to file an affidavit stating whether an absent defendant is in military service, allowing the court to appoint an attorney to represent the servicemember.<\/p>\n
RMS filing an affidavit stating that the sailor was not in the military service resulted in him not receiving those protections, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
Under the settlement, RMS will pay $60,000 in compensation to the sailor and provide ten years of credit monitoring for him. RMS will also be required to pay a $6,000 civil penalty and maintain SCRA policies and procedures to avoid committing future violations.<\/p>\n
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