I am 68 years old & live alone in a rented apartment since1999. Landlord at that time asked for rent in cash & no rent receipt & no written agreement & said I can stay as long as I want. Electricity & phone bills are in his name & I paid them by check & maintenance by cash for 18 years & I have all Original receipts except no rent receipt.
5 years ago in 2013, when flat prices jumped high, he sent two thugs at night when I am alone who said that they have bought the apartment & threatened me to vacate immediately. I did not go to police because of my life in danger & hastily hired a lawyer who filed a suit on my behalf in 2013. But then it seemed that he was colluding with other party & asked me not to contact him or ask questions. Landlord's answer to my suit was that he knew me & trusted me so he gave me the keys to clean and look after the apartment. I am an engineer & never met him before renting the apt. He also challenged me in his response to prove that paying bills does not make me a tenant. Is that true ?
Now first Evidence hearing dates started in January 2017 but my lawyer did not contact me until now. Now he says that I have to give a written Jubani ( Is that a written deposition ? ) & wants all the Original copies of documents mentioned above by Saturday, July 28 & says he needs them to prepare the written Jubani. Unless I give them Originals, he will not be able to prepare written Jubani although I have submitted the photocopies of them in court & he also has copies.
My question & concern is :
(1) What is written Jubani ( Is it same as written Deposition ?) & does he need Original documents to prepare written Jubani ? He says he can not prepare written Jubani unless I give him Original documents. Is that true ?
(2) Once I sign written Jubani, can I change that before cross examination ? When filing the suit, he gave me only 15 minutes before court closing time on weekend to sign the suit & I wanted to add some very important facts like thugs harassed me for over a month but he refused & now it seems that he wants to do the same &.doesn't want to show me or sign written Jubani unless I give him Original documents.
(3) Since I don't trust him, should I give him Original documents OR is there an alternative where by they wouldn't get lost ?
He has taken over 70% of his fees at the time of filing the case so hiring a new lawyer at this point is not an option & besides that, it is hard to find a good lawyer in a small town who do not know each other.
I would be grateful for any help. Please PM me if you need more information.
Thank You.
