Sister versus sister in dispute

Tracey Green forged her sister’s signature twice; once to terminate a rent to buy agreement her sister had with a tenant, and once to claim a share in the house her sister was forced to sell.

The dispute between Green and her sister Deborah Franklyn centred around a Gisborne property that was sold in a mortgagee sale in October 2017.

Franklyn was the registered owner of the property, which was subject to a mortgage with Westpac Bank.

In April 2016, Franklyn entered in a rent to buy agreement with a woman.

In October of that year, the woman received a letter to terminate the agreement. It claimed to be signed by Franklyn.

The woman began proceedings against Franklyn in the Disputes Tribunal, claiming she had breached the agreement.

It became clear during the tribunal hearing that Franklyn had not written the letter and had not breached the agreement.

The tribunal found that Green had fraudulently written the termination letter and forged her sister’s signature.

In the course of the hearing, Green produced a handwritten agreement appearing to show that Green had a financial interest in the property.

The agreement, again purporting to be signed by Franklyn, also stated that Green had paid $18,000 toward the property and that she would recover this sum when the property sold.

Franklyn said that agreement was also forged, and she had not signed it.

The property sold in a mortgagee sale in October 2017, after Franklyn fell into arrears on her mortgage.

There was a surplus of $47,190 on the sale but Westpac would not release the funds until it was determined who was entitled to them. This was because Green had lodged a caveat on the property.

So Franklyn went to the High Court to seek a declaration. The matter was heard by Justice Rebecca Edwards last month.

In a recently released decision, Justice Edwards said she found Franklyn a more credible and reliable witness than Green, who she found ‘‘confused at times and difficult to follow’’.

Green had claimed the hand-written agreement had been signed while she was in her motorhome parked outside Franklyn’s house in Palmerston North.

Franklyn told the court she had no knowledge of the agreement and her signature was forged. She refuted her sister’s claim that she had parked her motorhome outside her property because it was not possible to park there given the trees planted on the berm.

Green claimed to have carried out work on the property, including digging up sewage pipes, installing a hot water cylinder, painting and plastering, landscaping and more. Franklyn said she had not carried out any of this work.

‘‘Considering the evidence in totality, I accept Ms Franklyn’s evidence that her signature on the agreement was forged and she never made any agreement with Ms Green in relation to the property.’’

Franklyn was the registered owner and as such was entitled to the full proceeds of the sale held in the solicitor’s account, Justice Edwards ruled.