Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Is it perjury or fraud! Help me

As you can see, my reply was not posted. The good news is that the email alerted me to this problem while I still had time to backtrack and copy my reply from my web browser. I tried twice to re-post it (my original effort included modificatyions, so I wnt back and tried it without making modifications) but to no avail. Here is what I wrote:

You won't go to jail as a result of a civil lawsuit, although I suppose it's possible that a prosecutor would act on the same allegations and bring charges against you. Your misconduct would have to be pretty serious to warrant such action, but without details about what you said and why it is false [detail which you wisely did not include in this public forum], I can't assess the odds that this will happen.

You ask whether you committed perjury, and the answer depends on whether your application was signed under penalty of perjury. Most aren't. Also, your false statement would have to be "material" to the landlord's decision about whether to lease to you. Even if you did commit perjury, prosecution is unlikely unless your landlord has suffered significant harm as a result.

In addition, your landlord can seek your eviction under certain circumstances.

If your landlord sues you for fraud, he will have to prove that your statements were false, that you knew they were false at the time, that he relied on them when he decided to grant your application (e.g. that he would have denied your application if you had told the truth), that his reliance was reasonable, and that you intended to induce his reliance by lying, and that he has suffered damages as a result.

You don't say what kind of damages he claims to have suffered, but these could take the form of unpaid rent, damage to the property, or reputational damage if your presence has harmed his business (e.g. if you are a notorious felon or are running a crack house in the rental property). Other types of harm are possible as well.

He can also seek punitive damages, and will probably try to get attorney fees and court costs. If the landlord is an individual, he can try to claim emotional distress damages as well.

The bottom line, though, is that the size of any award you might be forced to pay will be tied to the extent of your purported fraud and the amount of damages he suffered. And, as I said at the beginning, he will not be able to have you jailed. He may just be trying to scare you.

Re: fraud

No you cannot go to jail unless you lied on an application

to the government for subsidized housing. This

sounds like a civil matter. He can sue you in civil

court, but he will have to show proof that the fraud actually

caused him damages. If you would like additional information

please feel free to contact me toll free at 888-5NETLAW for a

free consultation about your rights.