Jefferson Mount Laurel sued over termination fees for servicemembers

peter kenzekyOct 9, 2023

MOUNT LAUREL – A firm that runs an apartment complex here has agreed to pay about $61,600 to resolve claims that it demanded illegal fees from tenants in the military.

JAG Management Co. LLC allegedly required the payments from at least nine servicemembers who had to break leases at the Jefferson Mount Laurel complex when they were assigned to new posts.

“The termination fees ran as high as $2,750 per servicemember,” the Justice Department said in announcing settlement of a lawsuit against JAG.

Company left Mount Laurel base in 2022Freedom Mortgage pays to settle allegations of consumer-protection violations

It said a federal law, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), protects military personnel who must terminate leases “after receiving qualifying military orders.”

“Servicemembers should not have to pay any fees — much less exorbitant fees — to landlords when they are simply complying with their military orders and protecting our country,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

JAG oversees a 490-unit complex in Mount Laurel, and has at least 20 similar properties in other states, according to a consent order resolving the dispute.

The company denied the government’s claims, and said the suit was settled to “avoid costly and protracted litigation.”

Table of Contents

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects tenants in the military

U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb approved the settlement on Wednesday, Oct. 4, in Camden federal court.

Under the settlement, JAG is to pay $41,581 in damages to nine servicemembers and a $20,000 civil penalty to the government.

The agreement requires JAG to observe the law, to train its employees in its requirements, and to inform military personnel about SCRA when they’re entering into a lease.

According to the Justice Department’s lawsuit, a Coast Guard lieutenant was told — two months after leaving Jefferson Mount Laurel for a new post in Connecticut — to repay a $2,100 rent concession to the South Jersey complex.

Source link