(a) Individual Debtor’s Statement of Military Service. Pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003 (“SCRA”), 50 App. U.S.C. § 501 et seq., a debtor should inform the Court if he or she is a servicemember subject to the provisions of SCRA at the time of the filing of the bankruptcy petition by filing a Statement of Military Service.
(b) Individual Debtor’s Failure to Comply. The debtor’s failure to inform the Court of his or her military status does not constitute a waiver of the debtor’s protections under SCRA, and does not alter the responsibility of a party to investigate the debtor’s servicemember status before filing any documents pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4001 and 7055 and L.B.R. 4001-1 and 7055-1.
(c) Affidavit Required for Motion for Default Judgment and Motions for Relief from the Automatic Stay for Cases Concerning Individual Debtor. At the time of the filing of a motion for relief from stay under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4001 or a motion for default judgment in an adversary proceeding pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7055, the plaintiff/movant must file an affidavit with the Court which states (i) whether or not the defendant/respondent is in the military service, and indicating the necessary facts to support said affidavit; or (ii) if the plaintiff/movant is unable to determine whether or not the defendant/respondent is in the military service, a statement that the plaintiff/movant is unable to so determine. The Court will deny motions for relief from stay and motions for default judgment that do not include the required affidavit. If the Court is unable to ascertain the defendant’s/respondent’s military status from the affidavit, it may require the plaintiff/movant to post a bond before entering an order lifting the stay or a default judgment.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Website