Forged signatures on lease

[KAhern22]

What is the name of your state? NY
I know this will sound crazy but my husband and I signed a 6 month lease in November 2005. When we notified the management company Aug 1 2006 that we were moving out in 30 days, they informed us they had another 6 month lease on file that we purportedly signed that wasn't up until the end of October. I've seen the lease and someone actually forged our signatures on it! I informed the management company of this and they responded by getting their lawyers to send us a letter saying we owe them 2 months rent since we "signed" this contract. This type of forgery is a class D felony in NY but I'm not sure what to do. Obviously I will retain an attorney, but we don't have much money and I want to make sure if I sue them, I will get my lawyer's fees reimbursed in addition to additional money that I think we should get just for dealing with this ridiculous hassle! Any help is much appreciated. Not sure if I should go to the police with a forgery or not. Should I be posting in another catergory? Thanks!

 

[Ohiogal]

There is no guarantee that you would win or that you would recover attorney fees if you did win.

 

[IrishNodak]

Your time line doesn't make sense. If you only signed a 6 month lease in November of 2005 that would have taken you through April of 2006. Then if you(or someone) signed another 6 month lease that would bring you up through October just like they are claiming. Did you just assume you were month to month at the end of April? You didn't sign anything in April when the first 6 months expired? Maybe something you didn't read?

I don't think you can involve the police. This will be a civil matter I'm sure but hopefully the experts will be along shortly to give you a better answer.

 

[FarmerJ]

This whole thing depends really on how far you are willing to go if this were to come to a court suit for money owed according to the LL and that lease , are you willing to go as far as something like this ? >>>http://www.expertwitness.com/srch/handwriting-analysis-experts-witnesses.htm

 

[KAhern22]

Willing to go far!

The timeline is correct. They have a lease in their possession dated May - October that is forged. We only signed a 6 month lease in November and presumed we were operating on a month to month as they do that here, but no one from the office ever came by with a new lease for us to sign.

I am willing to involve a handwriting expert since I would rather pay the $1750 in legal fees than give it to these thieving scum. If it comes to that, then I will try to sue them in small claims court to get back my legal fees. Somewhat unlikely, but at least I'll be dragging their lawyers to court and costing them more money. Hopefully one letter from my lawyer should do the trick but if not we're going to court. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for the responses.

 

[acmb05]

The timeline is correct. They have a lease in their possession dated May - October that is forged. We only signed a 6 month lease in November and presumed we were operating on a month to month as they do that here, but no one from the office ever came by with a new lease for us to sign.

I am willing to involve a handwriting expert since I would rather pay the $1750 in legal fees than give it to these thieving scum. If it comes to that, then I will try to sue them in small claims court to get back my legal fees. Somewhat unlikely, but at least I'll be dragging their lawyers to court and costing them more money. Hopefully one letter from my lawyer should do the trick but if not we're going to court. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for the responses.

You can't have a lawyer for small claims court, hence you can't ask to be reimbursed for his fee.

 

[harbor lady]

yes, you may have a lawyer in small claims court in the state of new york.

 

[harbor lady]

may i suggest... if the document is indeed fraudulent, conduct yourselves as if this were month to month lease, stay in the lines of that version of contract.
should they decide to claim you owe them money based on their six month lease agreement that is fraudulent, they will be obliged to carry the burden of proof in court, which is, as you are confident, fraudulent.
seems to me there is no more economical way to deal with this. outlaying cash to prove your innocence isnt likely to be paid back. anyone have a better idea?