I am the Defendant in a civil case in the UK, where the only evidence against me?

is 1 terrible unreadable copy of a document on which my signature was forged. I have recieved a letter from a qualified handwriting expert saying that the copy is too poor to allow inspection of the question signature, therefore it cannot be proved or disproved.


Does this work for me or against me?I am the Defendant in a civil case in the UK, where the only evidence against me?
It works for you.I am the Defendant in a civil case in the UK, where the only evidence against me?
The problem with civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is that it runs on the ';balance of probabilities';. In other words, the judge will weigh up all the evidence and decide on ';balance'; how he feels about it. It doesn't need to be ';beyond reasonable doubt'; as with the criminal law.





Obviously, sometimes it's totally obvious what the right answer is, but much of the time it isn't. The civil law isn't at all black and white, and anyone who tells you otherwise is telling you porkies!





In your case, if the judge believes the signature is yours then you are probably knackered. If he doesn't, then he will probably find in your favour.
If as you say, the only evidence against you cannot be proved then this will work for you. It's hard to advise you fully without anymore information, you say this is a civil dispute, is it contractual? Tortious? Is it nuisance? Negligence? If you have obtained proper legal advice and thats the only evidence, then enquire about applying to the court for an interim hearing for summary judgment where you would argue that there seems to be no real case to take to court. If you have not then taken legal advice it may be an idea to contact the citizens advice bureau or check if there are any bro bono units that could help or advise you for free. Good luck.
Works for you - to prove a case even in civil cases the onus is to prove without doubt.





With this paper - it seems unlikely that 'without doubt' can be proved.





Whoever is taking this case out against you has to prove that it is your signature - and from what you say, this is not going to happen and they will not be able to prove it
Perhaps there might be a witness that testifies that you actually signed that piece of paper?





You are not telling us the whole story though, and no one would take criminal proceedings unless there was enough EVIDENCE to present - due to the risk of losing the case and the high legal costs involved.
Re the document: others have given you the correct answer. that civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities.





Re the case in general I strongly suspect that there is a lot you have NOT told us. You know whether you are guilty or not dont you ?
You have not explained the circumstances surrounding the case. I suspect the plaintiff won't just be showing a piece of paper to a judge. They will lead witness evidence (i.e. the plaintiff, if no one else).





What's the FULL story?