Can I be held liable to a contract that was lost? My dancestudio owner can't find the contract I signed.?

Question

I lost my job and have become unable to make my payments to my dancestudio. I stopped taking classes, spoke to the owner, explained my situation....we've always had a casual, verbal way of working things out.
Out of the blue, I was served a Summons by a sheriff. Attached was a contract (with my FORGED signature) I never saw before...with changed numbers, percentage rates, etc. Also attached was a bookkeeping entry...which listed a payment I never made. I filed a dispute of the validity of the debt, and requested a copy of the actual contract I signed, together with a record of all payments made by me to date. That was almost 2 months ago. I haven't heard from my dancestudio, nor from his lawyer ever since.
The owner told me that "it doesn't matter if this is my real signature or not" and that "the real contract is somewhere."
What if he lost the contract? I know for a fact (out of experience) that his bookkeeping is totally random and chaotic. No contract, no claim?

Answer 1

If he has already said that the real contract was lost than he has admitted to forging your signature (as it seams he has by saying he lost the original). You should sue him for forgery, as evidence find a handwriting specialist. If the lawsuit against you goes to court you should counter-sue him.

Answer 2

If I were you, the first thing I would do is take a copy of the forged contract to the police and dile a formal complaint, so that way it is on record. Then, I would gather up all of my cancelled checks, etc. because if this does go to court then you are gonna need all the proof you can get.

To answer your question, no, this studio owner has no claim if he cannot find the original contract you signed. When you challenged the forged contract, it might have scared him enough to drop the suit against you because all he would get from you is money, but because he forged your signature, he could face jail time (very unlikely if it was a first offense, but none the less).

Answer 3

If this were a case of a missing contract then they would be sh!t out of luck...but the fact that they went out of thier way to sue you and create a falsified document really changes things! This whole situation is crazy to me...I just cant believe that they would forge your signature and then even admit it to you. You can now counter sue them for forgery and fraud. Do you remember once signing a contract? Im just wondering but either way they are in the wrong. If they lost the contract then they go tnothing BUT what I am wondering is if they are saying that they lost th econtract then arent they blatantly admitting that they forged a new one? Has the date on the summons past yet? If not then you show up with your lawyer and fight it....if it has passed then you have the option of leaving well enough alone OR going after them for putting you through all o fthis anyway...

Answer 4

If he tries to file charges, you can insist that you receive the copy that you actually signed. If he tries to produce the other one, there might be a creative way to get him in trouble for defrauding the court, but I'm not sure what that would be. Either way, you should be able to get the case tossed.

If, however, *you* have a copy of the contract, he could possibly attempt to subpoena your copy. There's nothing requiring you to have kept the contract though, so no skin off your nose if you can't produce it.

The only other way he could proceed without a contract is (possibly?) to find some note on a payment where you wrote "Payment #2 of 36" or something like that. But that's unlikely.

Of course, this doesn't address the moral/ethical implications of bailing on a contract that you actually signed. That's up to you to figure out.

Answer 5

The issue is not whether the original contract extists or not....

The issue is whether he can prove, by a preponderance of the evidence the specific terms of the contract. It would lilkely fall into the great area of credibility of witnesses. I would say that if he is trying to perptrate a fraud upon the court (forged signature, fraudulent entries, etc.), you would win hands down. Remember, HE has the burden of proof to first PROVE his claim - if he doesn't do that, you don't have to present anything.

I would suggest though, that you check your specific state, city, etc. for any specific statutes or regulations that may govern this situation. What I told you is common law, and may not apply.

Answer 6

If the dance studio can't find the original with your authentic signature, they have no case. If they try taking you to court with
a forged document they will get no where. Which is probably why
you haven't heard from them after you called their bluff. The lawyer sent you the demand letter hoping to scare you into paying.
The owner of the studio is an idiot if he thinks that a phony signature will stand up in court. He has to have the original .
Don't you ever watch Judge Judy??? In fact, this is something
that that show would like....she loves to lay into idiots. Phone them up and see, it could be interesting.

Answer 7

if that contract still exsist then it is binding till blown dead
or the dance company go belly up
if you are sued and it is good then they had it! all along and your counter sueing case wins. if you had one going

but I think your the escape goat .lead to the butcher shop
do not wait for an answer stay on top of things

Counter sue is your best bet they are wrong they lost it not you
they sound like they want a easy way to bring more money into the company in one big chunk and one person goes down rater then a company of people (That is so wrong)

Answer 8

Without the original copy of the contract YOU signed, he will be unable to sue you in a court of law. You see, if he chooses to sue you, the burden of proof is his and if he doesn't have the contract, he can't prove there ever was one.

Answer 9

well if u had a real contract u would be in a real good spot. aslong as u disagree with the contract that means that it doesnwork because there is no equal understanding from both sides. and prove that its a fake signature.

Answer 10

Relax and cool.. No black and white no law, he can appeal without it unless u agree to it.. but u won't be convicted unless u agree.. but for answer to u r question.. he can appeal its upto the judge to decide and this case will be as low conditioned as the paper value of after court case.