Q: How do I respond to a land partioning/sale petition filed against me MD? I no longer am the owner. Sold land.

A: If one is incorrectly named in a lawsuit the typical response is to file a Motion to Dismiss.

However, as with any legal matter, it would be prudent to sit down with an attorney to go over the specific lawsuit filed against you. While not legal advice I hope this general information helps.

A: The only way a person can file a sale in lieu of partition suit is if they are on the deed to the property, or if they have a legal agreement assigning them an interest in the property signed by the person named on the deed; however, if the latter is the case, and the agreement was never recorded in the land records before the land was sold, then they can no longer obtain any remedy against the land by way of sale or partition, assuming the current owner of the land was not aware of the assignment agreement before they purchased it. If you had a written agreement with this person regarding ownership or other interest in the land, then it is possible they have a breach of contract claim against you, but you do not explain why this person may believe they have rights to the property in the first place. If such an arrangement was all oral, and not contained in any writings that spell out the terms (such as a formal agreement, emails, other written memoranda adopted by the two of you), then the Statute of Frauds would preclude any action against the land or in connection with a claim to the land.

If their name was on the deed, and you somehow transferred ownership to your company without their knowledge or consent, and forged their name to do so, then they may have a remedy to undo the fraudulent transactions. If the two of you were joint owners of the company it was transferred to, and he agreed to the transfer of the deed to the company, then it becomes a question of who had authority to act for the company in connection with the later sale of the land by the company, and how proceeds from the sale were to flow to the owners of the company.

There is very little in your post that provides enough information or facts to evaluate your legal exposure. Pay a lawyer to review the details if you want to know your risk of liability.