Enforcement case record
PHH Mortgage SCRA Settlement: $750,000 for Six Foreclosures
- Defendant
- PHH Mortgage Corp.
- Year
- 2019
- Scale
- Six servicemembers
- Statute
- 50 U.S.C. § 3953
- Court
- D.N.J.
- Outcome
- Settlement (February 6, 2019): $750,000 in damages, $125,000 per servicemember, plus ongoing monitoring for SCRA compliance.
What happened
On February 6, 2019 the United States filed a complaint and entered a settlement agreement resolving United States v. PHH Mortgage Corp. The complaint alleged that PHH, one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, foreclosed on homes owned by six servicemembers without the required court orders, in violation of Section 3953.
DOJ characterised the violations as raising issues of significant public importance, language it does not attach to every case it resolves.
Section 3953 is short and strict. For a mortgage taken out before military service, on which a payment was made before service began, a lender cannot sell, foreclose, or seize the property during military service or within one year afterwards unless a court has approved it or the servicemember has waived the protection in writing. There is no exception for a servicer that did not know, which is why every foreclosure case in this ledger turns on whether anyone checked military status rather than on whether the borrower was behind.
The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3953
Mortgages and trust deeds: sale, foreclosure, or seizure of property: read the statute.
Who was covered
The six servicemembers whose homes PHH foreclosed on without a court order, where the mortgage predates military service and a payment was made before service began.
What the settlement paid
- $750,000 in damages to the servicemembers, set at $125,000 per servicemember.
- The agreement also required monitoring for SCRA compliance.
- That per-person figure is the same one Capital One paid as its foreclosure minimum in 2012, and it sits close to the $116,785 minimum in the Bank of America and Saxon settlements. Foreclosure compensation clusters at a six-figure floor across this ledger regardless of the servicer’s size.
Why this case matters
Six people, $750,000. Small classes do not mean small awards under the SCRA, because foreclosure compensation is set per servicemember rather than divided out of a fixed pool.
If you think you were affected
Foreclosure compensation in these settlements is set per servicemember and runs to six figures, so it is worth establishing whether your dates fall inside a covered period.
This page is a record of a public enforcement action against PHH Mortgage Corp.. 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: United States v. PHH Mortgage Corp. (D.N.J.) . Settlement administration and any claim process are run from there, never from here.
- Start with the § 3953 court-order requirement on a military mortgage , 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 foreclosure cases
- Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. (2017 to 2018)
- JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, GMAC Mortgage (Ally), and Bank of America (National Mortgage Settlement SCRA review) (2015)
- BAC Home Loans Servicing LP (Countrywide), a Bank of America subsidiary (2011 to 2013)
- Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc., a Morgan Stanley subsidiary (2011 to 2013)
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.