11 News Investigates: US service members sue Maryland in federal court
Several U.S. service members are battling with the state of Maryland in federal court.
The legal dispute came after their wages were garnished and bank access was lost for months. A federal judge ruled that the state violated their rights.
The kicker — none of them have any connection to Maryland.
Army Sgt. Oscar Davines Jr. said he was thrown into financial chaos while serving his country in Turkey near the Syrian border. He was shocked to learn his wages had been garnished in Maryland.
"I used my card, and it said, 'declined.' It was frozen," he said.
The same thing happened to Army Sgt. Daniel Riley and his wife in North Carolina.
"We just couldn't believe it. We knew right off something about this was not right," Jessica Riley said.
"For me, it seems like they were using the state of Maryland to do all their dirty work as far as getting money from soldiers," Daniel Riley said.
It also happened to retired Army Sgt. Latasha Rouse while she was stationed in Hawaii on active duty.
"As an ex-service member, I don't want this to happen to anyone else, my brothers and sisters in arms, because it can happen to anyone. I know what me and my family endured from this incident," Rouse said.
"What is Maryland? Why is Maryland coming after me?" Davines said.
It's called a foreign judgment. The service member families were stationed in Hawaii and North Carolina. They were solicited by door-to-door salespeople offering products like encyclopedias and bookcases. They signed contracts for payment, but said they later canceled the deal.
However, the business owner, based in Nevada, filed claims in Maryland. The state courts granted default judgments against them ranging from $2,400 to more than $3,600.
"Everything we do for the American people, and this is how America gives back to us?" Davines said.
The service members sued Maryland in federal court. Their attorney said Maryland denied them their rights.
"We don't want active duty service members to be hauled into court, have a judgment against them, their money taken while they are on active duty. We want them to be thinking on the front lines. We don't want them to second guess what's happening with their families," attorney Phillip Robinson said.
He said Maryland followed its own law, but ignored protections granted under the Federal Service Members Civil Relief Act, including providing a lawyer to represent each service member in the civil cases.
The longstanding federal law also "provides for the temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that may adversely affect the civil rights of service members during military service."
"Congress passed it to protect people in the armed forces while on active duty," University of Maryland professor Jeff Sovern said.
We asked Sovern, a consumer protection law professor, about the federal law.
"I very much doubt Maryland wants to be in a position where it's failing to protect people in the military in a way that Congress thinks is necessary," he said.
A federal judge ruled the service members' rights were indeed violated. The judge's ruling ordered both sides to go to mediation and work out a resolution.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office did not give 11 News Investigates a comment on the case.
