Congress has long recognized the need for protective legislation for servicemembers whose service to the nation may compromise their ability to meet obligations and protect their legal interests. During the Civil War, Congress enacted an absolute moratorium on civil actions brought against soldiers and sailors. During World War I, Congress passed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1918, which did not create a moratorium on legal actions against servicemembers, but instead directed trial courts to apply principles of equity to determine the appropriate action to take whenever a servicemember's rights were involved in a controversy. During World War II, Congress essentially reenacted the expired 1918 statute as the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, and then amended it substantially in 1942 to take into account the new economic and legal landscape that had developed between the wars. During consideration of the amendments in the 87 th Congress, Congressman Overton Brooks (D-LA) stated, This bill springs from the desire of the people of the United States to make sure as far as possible that men in service are not placed at a civil disadvantage during their absence. It springs from the inability of men who are in service to properly manage their normal business affairs while away. It likewise arises from the differences in pay which a soldier received and what the same man normally earns in civil life. Congress enacted amendments on several occasions during subsequent conflicts, including 2002 when the benefits of the SSCRA were extended to certain members of the National Guard. In 2003, Congress enacted the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) as a modernization and restatement of the SSCRA and its protections. The SCRA is an exercise of Congress's power to raise and support armies (U.S. Const. Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 12) and to declare war (Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 11). The purpose of the act is to provide for, strengthen, and expedite the national defense by protecting servicemembers, enabling them to "devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation" by providing for the temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that may adversely affect their legal rights during military service. Forgiving of all debts or the extinguishment of contractual obligations on behalf of servicemembers who have been called up for active duty is not required, nor is absolute immunity from civil lawsuits provided. Instead, the act provides for the suspension of claims and protection from default judgments. In this way, it seeks to balance the interests of servicemembers and their creditors, spreading the burden of national military service to a broader portion of the citizenry. In Engstrom v. National Bank of Eagle Lake , the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit acknowledged the balancing required when it stated "[a]lthough the act is to be liberally construed it is not to be used as a sword against persons with legitimate claims." Many of the SCRA provisions are especially beneficial for Reservists activated to respond to a national crisis, but many provisions may be useful for career military personnel. One of the measures that affects many who are called to active duty is the limit on the interest rate that may be charged on debts incurred prior to a person's entry into active duty military service. Other measures protect military families from being evicted from rental or mortgaged property; from cancellation of life insurance; from taxation in multiple jurisdictions; from foreclosure of property to pay taxes that are due; and from losing certain rights to public land. In order to receive protections afforded under the SCRA, servicemembers are generally required to provide notice of their desire to invoke the protection. For example, with respect to the interest rate limitation, the servicemember is required to provide written notification to the creditor with a copy of his/her orders establishing a period of active duty service. Individuals and/or entities that violate specified sections of the SCRA may be subject to penalties. With the exception of the section pertaining to the interest rate limitation in Title II, only the sections in Title III (addressing rent, installment contracts, mortgages, liens, assignments, and leases) include a penalty provision. The provision generally consists of two parts, the first classifying the violation as a misdemeanor and the second preserving other remedies and rights. The section addressing evictions, for example, states that a "person who knowingly takes part in an eviction or distress ... or attempts to do, shall be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both." The section further states that the "rights and remedies provided ... are in addition to and do not preclude any remedy for wrongful conversion (or wrongful eviction) otherwise available under the law to the person claiming relief ... including any award for consequential and punitive damages." The importance of servicemembers knowing and understanding their rights is evidenced by the requirement in the act that all servicemembers be provided written notice of their rights by the Secretary of each of the armed services. In the event that a servicemember feels that he/she is not receiving the statutory protections, the servicemember may request assistance from military legal assistance officers, civilian lawyers, and in some circumstances the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ Civil Rights Division will investigate specific complaints and, if necessary, institute legal proceedings to protect the rights of servicemembers. The DOJ Civil Rights Division filed its first lawsuit under the SCRA on December 10, 2008, alleging a towing company in Norfolk, Virginia participated in unlawful enforcements of storage liens. The act does not specifically state who may bring an application for relief, nor does it specifically exclude private individuals from filing a cause of action. Most courts considering the issue have found that a private cause of action exists under the SCRA. An opinion from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Hurley v. Deutsche Bank Trust Company , disagreed with decisions from U.S. district courts in Illinois, Louisiana, Oregon, and Texas, and found that a private cause of action did not exist under the act. However, upon reconsideration the court vacated its earlier opinion and held that a private cause of action does exist under various sections of the SCRA. In Moll v. Ford Consumer Finance Company, Inc. , the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that a private cause of action exists under the provision limiting the amount of interest that may be charged on debt incurred prior to service. Moll, a reservist in the United States Air Force, was ordered to active duty in support of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Upon activation, he contacted Ford and requested that the interest rate on his car loan be reduced from a variable rate of 10.25% to 6% as provided for under SCRA and provided all documentation requested by Ford. Ford failed to adjust the interest rate and continued to charge 10.25% on the loan. Moll filed an action alleging Ford violated the SCRA and received unlawful interest subject to penalties under the Illinois Interest Act. Ford moved to dismiss the action arguing that Moll failed to state a claim, contending that a private cause of action does not exist under the SCRA, and that because the loan was secured by a mortgage, the loan is exempt from the Illinois Interest Act. The court acknowledged that a private cause of action is not explicit in the act and turned to a four-part test, created by the United States Supreme Court in Cort v. Ash , to determine if a private cause of action exists even though it is not expressly provided for in the statute. The Cort factors are: (1) does the statute create a federal right in favor of the plaintiff; (2) is there any indication of legislative intent, explicit or implicit, to create or deny a private remedy; (3) is it consistent with the underlying purposes of the legislative scheme to imply such a remedy; and (4) is the cause of action one traditionally relegated to state law, so that it would be inappropriate to infer a cause of action based solely on federal law. However, the court further stated the Supreme Court has "retreated from this four-factor approach and has focused primarily on the legislative intent of the statute – the second factor." The court, focusing on the legislative intent of the act, the second Cort factor, stated that the interest limitation was "designed to give relief to military persons called into service." The court determined that the act confers a benefit on a servicemember that is not otherwise available to private citizens and therefore a private cause of action must be intended "because otherwise the relief would [be] of no value at all." Finally, the court addressed the remaining Cort factors and found that the act creates a federal right in favor of Moll; the interest rate limitation is consistent with the purpose of the act to provide servicemembers with relief in meeting their financial obligations; and that it is not an area of law traditionally relegated to state law, rather it is grounded in Congress' right to raise and maintain armed forces of the United States. Finding a private cause of action with respect to the interest rate limitation section of the act, the court denied Ford's motion to dismiss. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Marin v. A rmstrong , found an inferred private cause of action in two separate sections of the SCRA. In Marin , the servicemember claimed that as a result of illness from military service he was unable to fulfill his obligations on debt he owed for the purchase of a car. He alleged that he informed TranSouth, the holder of the loan, of his inability to make payments on the obligation and requested that they toll his obligation until his health allowed him to make payments.