Just over three years ago my girlfriend moved out of an apartment in Brooklyn. She had lived there for longer than the year she signed up for on the lease. She also ad a friend whose name was also on the lease. FWIW the landlord was a nightmare. Refusing to turn the heat on in the winter, taking forever to deal with bed bugs etc. She tried to go to the housing authority on several occasions but didn't get far. When she decided to leave, she called the landlord and informed him that she no longer wanted her name on the lease but that her friend would stay on. He told her he would take care of it. She also sent an email to hims saying the same thing which she kept a copy of.
There is some confusion as to what happened with the people living there after that. There are several people who lived there at the time and weren't on the lease and several people who have come and gone since but my gf wasn't aware of what was going on because she thought she was off the lease and was in fact living in a different state.
A couple weeks ago the landlord called her and started threatening to sue her. Supposedly he never took her name off the lease and is saying that there are people squatting there now and he is holding her responsible. He used a lot of harsh and sexist language. Keep in mind that she is not the only one whose name was on the lease originally but she is the only one being harassed now. He called her again six times today and was slightly more civil but seemed to be trying to get her to sign an agreement saying that she was no longer the tenant as of this month. She's obviously not going to do that and put herself on the hook for the last three years.
So how screwed is she? I'm a little worried for her. She does plan on hiring an attorney but we'd like to at least know a little bit about the law before we proceed.