[VIRGOCHILD71]

I am a notary in the state of Indiana. In January 2013 I received a summons naming me a defendant (along with several other people unknown to me). The jest o the legal proceeding is as follows: The Plaintiff (lady #1) is suing five people (including myself) for a quit claim deed filed by lady #1's renter (lady# 2). I does appear to be my signature on the notary form - however I do not know any of the people listed in this suit, do not have an documentation to show I did notarize the
Quit claim deed (no copy of the document, no id, no receipt reflect any type of cash payment. I gained NOTHING from this entire mess- so what can happen to me - can I be fined jailed slapped on the wrist WHAT?? My attorney has not had a conversation with me since February 2013 and now I am to be deposed in August...

[Fr_Chuck]

Is this a criminal case, filed by the state, or is it a civil case where you are being sued (along with the other people) for damages.

If this is a criminal case. And the jury decides it is you that signed this. Then yes you could go to jail as part of a scam and fraud to cheat this person. Or receive other punishment.

Beyond your signing, there should also be your "stamp" or "seal" on the paper,
What is your procedure to verify who is signing, do you keep any records normally ?

[ScottGem]

Notarization requires a seal to verify the Notary's license. Does the document have that seal? If it does, then you certified that you verified the identity of all parties signing the deed. Which could make you liable for damages. It can also result in lifting your notary license. If it can be proven that you acted in collusion with the people who are being accused of fraud, then criminal charges could result.

[AK lawyer]

In addition to what ScottGem wrote, the person damaged by a wrongful act on the part of the notary (notarizing a document as having been signed by a person other than the person named) could recover against the notary's bond. If OP's attorney has failed to keep OP up-to-date on the status of this case, and doesn't return phone calls etc.), I would first make sure that the attorney is in fact representing OP.

It is unclear what this lawsuit is about. I have to assume that it's a matter of a forged signature, supposedly by "Lady no. 1) who is now claiming that she didn't in fact sign it. are the other parties being deposed too? If so, I would be sure that, if someone claims to have been present when it was signed, that person be asked where it was signed, and who was present.