can he take me to court with no signature?

[lynetteirene]

I rented a small business from the franchisee. i left because it didnt pay. he now says I owe him ten thousand pounds for goods and back rent. complete fabrication. he also is citing my husband who never had any dealings with him. The only paperwork he can come up with has obviously just created by himself and printed off. there are no signatures. I have no proof I paid him rent, he has no proof i didnt or that my husband was part of any deal. can he really take me to court? if so whats to stop me saying that, say, my next door neighbour owes me money and taking him or anyone else to court? he has made a tentative claim on line and i sent in a defence. the local courts have now made an order that we need to serve each other with any paperwork, witnessses etc or make a request for a stay, set aside or varied order. i do not understand what any of this means. HELP!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'm assuming you're in small claims court. If you rented a business and there is proof a deal existed, then the question becomes what the deal was and whether it was enforceable. Not having a written agreement does not mean there is no case. I'm not sure what you mean by "you left because it didn't pay" nor what the controversy is.

Anyone can make claims, e.g. your neighbor owes you money. But it's up to the plaintiff to prove that such a claim is true and valid. If there is evidence he has, e.g. emails, receipts, camera recordings of your husband running the store, etc. he can use it to show that you did have a deal of some kind and isn't just a made up claim.

With regard to your paperwork, we don't know anything about the court you are in. From what you told me it seems that now you need to make requests of each other with regard to any witnesses that you may bring to court to testify on your behalf. If there was no deal then it seems that much of this pertains to the plaintiff who will have to make his case. Good luck.