Enforcement case record
Holmes Motors SCRA Settlement: Repossessions and Kept Deposits
- Defendant
- Holmes Motors, Inc.
- Year
- 2026
- Scale
- Three vehicles repossessed, five leases terminated
- Statute
- 50 U.S.C. § 3952
- Outcome
- Settlement (July 30, 2026): $77,348 to compensate the servicemembers and a $60,000 civil penalty to the United States, plus revised policies, procedures, and training materials.
What happened
On July 30, 2026 the United States entered a settlement resolving allegations that Holmes Motors, Inc., a "lease here, pay here" auto dealership with locations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, illegally repossessed three vehicles owned by servicemembers.
The settlement also resolved allegations that Holmes failed to refund security deposits and prepaid lease amounts to servicemembers who terminated five vehicle leases after receiving qualifying military orders.
Two separate protections are in play. Section 3952 governs the repossessions and requires a court order. Section 3955 governs the lease terminations and requires that amounts paid in advance, including security deposits, come back to the servicemember once the lease lawfully ends.
This is the most recent case in the ledger, settled on July 30, 2026.
The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3952
Protection under installment contracts for purchase or lease: read the statute.
Who was covered
Servicemembers whose vehicles Holmes Motors repossessed without a court order, and servicemembers who terminated a Holmes lease on qualifying orders and did not get their deposit or prepaid amounts back.
What the settlement paid
- $77,348 to compensate the servicemembers across the three repossessions and five lease terminations.
- A $60,000 civil penalty to the United States, below the $79,380 first-violation ceiling that CarMax and ADT paid in the same year.
- Revised policies, procedures, and training materials.
Why this case matters
Note what the settlement cost relative to its size: the civil penalty of $60,000 is close to the $77,348 paid to the servicemembers themselves. Lease here pay here dealerships cluster around installations and lend to junior enlisted borrowers with thin credit, and this case shows a regional dealer with eight affected customers drawing the same federal enforcement machinery as a national lender.
If you think you were affected
A repossession that happened without a court order does not become lawful with time, and the credit damage it caused is separately correctable.
This page is a record of a public enforcement action against Holmes Motors. It is not a claim form, and this site cannot tell you whether you are in the covered group. These are the routes that can.
- Read the Justice Department’s own record: DOJ case page: Holmes Motors, Inc. . Settlement administration and any claim process are run from there, never from here.
- Start with what § 3952 requires before a repossession , which is the protection this case was brought under.
- Contact your nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance office. It is free for servicemembers and dependents, and it is the right first call on any SCRA question about your own accounts. Our guide to SCRA legal help explains the options.
- Confirm your covered dates before you argue about them. The Defense Manpower Data Center issues a free military status certificate; our walkthrough shows how to pull one.
Other repossession cases
Every figure on this page is transcribed from the Justice Department record linked above, including its own hedges. Nothing is estimated or rounded. The ledger was last checked in full on July 11, 2026.
Heads up: SCRA Saver publishes general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs. Confirm details with your installation legal assistance office (free for service members) or a licensed professional.