50 U.S.C. § 3932: Stay of proceedings when…

Summary

A court must pause a civil case for at least 90 days when a party is a servicemember who is on duty or within 90 days after leaving the military and has been given notice of the case, if the servicemember asks for the pause and shows their military duty keeps them from attending. The court can also pause the case on its own. To get the pause, the servicemember must give a written statement saying how duty prevents them from coming and when they expect to be available, and a written statement from their commanding officer saying the duty prevents attendance and leave is not allowed. Asking for the pause does not count as giving up defenses or appearing for jurisdiction. A servicemember who gets a pause can ask for more time with the same proof; if the court refuses more time, it must appoint a lawyer. If the servicemember applies here and loses, they cannot use the protections of 3931. These protections do not apply to 3951.

Title 50, §3932

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(a)Applicability of section (b) Stay of proceedings

This section applies to any civil action or proceeding, including any child custody proceeding, in which the plaintiff or defendant at the time of filing an application under this section— (1)

(2)has received notice of the action or proceeding.

(c)Application not a waiver of defenses

An application for a stay under this section does not constitute an appearance for jurisdictional purposes and does not constitute a waiver of any substantive or procedural defense (including a defense relating to lack of personal jurisdiction).

(d)Additional stay

(1)Application

A servicemember who is granted a stay of a civil action or proceeding under subsection (b) may apply for an additional stay based on continuing material affect of military duty on the servicemember’s ability to appear. Such an application may be made by the servicemember at the time of the initial application under subsection (b) or when it appears that the servicemember is unavailable to prosecute or defend the action. The same information required under subsection (b)(2) shall be included in an application under this subsection.

(2)Appointment of counsel when additional stay refused

If the court refuses to grant an additional stay of proceedings under paragraph (1), the court shall appoint counsel to represent the servicemember in the action or proceeding.

(e)Coordination with section 3931

A servicemember who applies for a stay under this section and is unsuccessful may not seek the protections afforded by section 3931 of this title.

(f)Inapplicability to section 3951

The protections of this section do not apply to section 3951 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 522 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 202 of act Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, art. II, 54 Stat. 1181, related to fines and penalties on contracts, prior to the general amendment of this Act by Pub. L. 108–189. See section 3933 of this title.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–181 inserted “, including any child custody proceeding,” after “civil action or proceeding” in introductory provisions. 2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–454 inserted “plaintiff or” before “defendant” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable to any case not final before Dec. 19, 2003, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–189, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. Stay of Judicial Proceedings Pub. L. 102–12, § 6, Mar. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 37, provided that: “(a) Stay of Action or Proceeding.—In any judicial action or proceeding (other than a criminal proceeding) in which a member of the Armed Forces described in subsection (b) is involved (either as plaintiff or defendant), the court shall, upon application by such member (or some other person on the member’s behalf) at any stage before final judgment is entered, stay the action or proceeding until a date after June 30, 1991. “(b) Members Covered.—A member of the Armed Forces is covered by subsection (a) if at the time of application for the stay of a judicial action or proceeding the member—“(1) is on active duty; and “(2) is serving outside the State in which the court having jurisdiction over the action or proceeding is located. “(c) Definition.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.”

§3932 Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice