Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Forgery of a 12 months lease contract
I am being sued for the months that I was not present on an extended lease in which I did not sign. My name was illegely signed, for whatever reason, on an extended lease. I was not informed about this extended lease and had learned that I was paying for a lease that someone else had signed. Now I am being sewed for something that I had never signed. Not only did the lease have a falsified signature of my name, the extended lease had been sent by mail to a new tenant to sign and was sent back for the old tenants to sign along with a falsified signature of my name. I was not present at the time of the signatures and I should add it looks nothing like any of my signitures. The date clearly shows that all four tenants were not present at the time of the signing of the lease. I am now going to court and I was wandering how to prove to the judge that my name was illegely signed. How do I about this claim of being sued for this falsified lease? Thank you.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Forgery of a 12 months lease contract
The burden of proof is on the person suing you. They must prove that it IS your signature.
Re: Forgery of a 12 months lease contract
The initial burden of proof may indeed be upon the plaintiff to prove that the signature is yours.
However, the plaintiff can shift the burden to you by some slight evidence, such as pointing out that the writing is, after all, your name, and you were, after all, a tenant at one time or another, so therefore it's very likely you did sign a lease and this must be it.
At that point, you have to show that although that is your handwritten name and although you were a tenant, you were not the person that did the handwriting and that piece of paper isn't the lease.
This requires some persuasion. Judges and juries are persuaded on legal matters by attorneys and on factual matters, like this, by evidence and witnesses. Therefore, you may need witnesses who will testify at trial about the handwriting.
Selection of witnesses and preparation of evidence for presentation during a trial is a complex and tricky business and best left to an attorney unless you are in a small-claims matter, in which case you should obtain and read a self-help law book about small claims, paying particular attention to the parts about evidence and witnesses.
The other co-tenants could make useful witnesses if they can be counted on to appear and testify truthfully.
Re: Forgery of a 12 months lease contract
Your question isn't clear as to whether you've been served the complaint or not. Be sure and answer the complaint and put an allegation into the Affirmative Defenses that the signature isn't yours, that you didn't authorize anyone to sign your name, and further that you had no knowledge of the forgery. This will preserve your right to raise this issue at the trial. It may also motivate the plaintiff to drop you from the lawsuit after discovery is completed.
Re: Forgery of a 12 months lease contract
If this case is in small claims court, the judge may be convinced by seeing your signature and the forged signature in order to support you contention. If this is in Superior Court (Limited or Unlimited), I suggest that you hire a handwriting expert. Call me if you have any questions.
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