Case Type: Civil

Result: Complete Victory

Details:

The Civil Team at Suhn Law Group represented a client who had been the victim of identity theft, successfully securing a complete dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims. This victory spared the client from what could have been a devastating financial burden amounting to tens of billions of KRW in debt due to the misuse of their name.

The client had lent their name to a housing development company for limited purposes. However, when the housing sales stalled and the developer failed to pay construction costs, subcontractors who had worked on the project filed multiple claims against the client, who was listed as the nominal representative on the documents, seeking payment of the construction fees.

In civil litigation involving name lending or identity theft, documents bearing a person’s name and seal are generally presumed to have been legitimately created with that person’s intent. However, if the meaning of the text is ambiguous or if the seal was affixed by someone without proper authority, the evidentiary value of such documents can be denied. The challenge, however, lies in the fact that under normal business practices, it is extremely rare for someone to lend their name and seal without reason—making it practically difficult to prove such exceptional circumstances.

In many name lending, identity theft, or “nominee representative” cases, individuals even provide copies of their seal certificates or identification cards, making it difficult to deny the authenticity of the documents later.

In this case, Attorney May H. Kim of Suhn Law Group’s Civil Team held multiple meetings with the client to gain a thorough understanding of the situation at the time of the incident and collected evidence that cast doubt on the authenticity of the documents in question. It is common for clients to possess potentially critical evidence without realizing its legal significance. Through close cooperation with the client, the Civil Team unearthed and presented such hidden evidence, persuading the court that the documents had not been created with the client’s genuine intent, nor by someone with proper legal authority.

As a result, the court denied the evidentiary value of the promissory notes and powers of attorney prepared under the client’s name and ultimately dismissed or rejected all of the plaintiff’s claims.

This ruling achieved the best possible outcome for the client in a case involving name lending and identity theft in civil litigation.

Case Contact: Attorney May H. Kim