Enforcement case record
Chrysler Capital SCRA Settlement: Ten Refused Lease Terminations
- Defendant
- Santander Consumer USA, Inc., d/b/a Chrysler Capital
- Year
- 2021
- Scale
- Ten servicemembers
- Statute
- 50 U.S.C. § 3955
- Court
- N.D. Tex.
- Outcome
- Consent order (entered October 1, 2021): $94,282.62 in compensation for the ten servicemembers, a $40,000 civil penalty, and changes to procedures and training.
What happened
The complaint, filed September 30, 2021, alleged that Santander Consumer USA, Inc. doing business as Chrysler Capital violated the SCRA by unlawfully rejecting ten requests from qualified servicemembers to terminate their motor vehicle leases early.
The court entered the consent order on October 1, 2021.
This is a different failure from the BMW and Nissan lease cases in this ledger. There the terminations were allowed and the refunds withheld; here the terminations were refused outright.
A motor vehicle lease qualifies for termination under Section 3955 when the servicemember enters military service during the lease, or receives orders for a permanent change of station outside the continental United States or to deploy for 180 days or more. The lessor does not get to weigh whether the orders are inconvenient; the statute sets the test.
The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3955
Termination of residential or motor vehicle leases: read the statute.
Who was covered
The ten qualified servicemembers whose early lease termination requests Chrysler Capital rejected.
What the settlement paid
- $94,282.62 in compensation for the ten servicemembers, an average of about $9,400 each.
- A $40,000 civil penalty.
- Changes to procedures and training.
Why this case matters
Ten refusals drew a federal complaint. There is no threshold count below which a lender can decline a lawful SCRA lease termination, and this is the same corporate parent as the 1,112-vehicle repossession case.
If you think you were affected
Lease cases turn on paperwork you may still have: your orders, your written termination notice, and the date it was delivered.
This page is a record of a public enforcement action against Santander Consumer USA. 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. Santander Consumer USA (N.D. Tex.) . Settlement administration and any claim process are run from there, never from here.
- Start with the § 3955 termination rules and refund deadlines , 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.
Current SCRA policy and contact details for this company: our Santander Consumer USA SCRA guide .
Other lease 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.