False Accusation

[bupo123]

My jurisdiction is: New Jersey

A third party has accused me to have forged the signature
on a document to transfer ownership and filed a protest
at the private Association that made the transfer. This
third party also filed a criminal complaint at the Office of
Prosecution. The Office of Prosecution came clearly to
the conclusion there was no forgery of signature, the case was closed and the decision is legally effective. A few months later the private Association decided exactly the opposite and even though I have presented my case and said I have a legal sentence of not having forged signature, they do not care, they don't even respond. The consequence is a 6 months suspension of service of this private association, a fine and world wide publication of the suspension which will have a profound impact on my reputation and may harm me greatly. No fair hearing has been given to me and a protest I wanted to file against this third party has simply been ignored. This is an international situation. The private association is located in New Jersey but does business worldwide, the third party lives in Germany and I live in Switzerland. I am not familiar with US laws. What possibilities do I have to stop the association from publishing this wrong accusation? I am aware that there's limited possibility to take cases into court involving private associations which have their internal penalty system. But, can they even accuse a person of having committed a crime (which forgery is) where there is official and legal decision that it isn't and publish it worldwide?
What steps can I take from outside the US to get my integrity protected? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dee_dub]

can they even accuse a person of having committed a crime (which forgery is) where there is official and legal decision that it isn't and publish it worldwide?

They can. The forgery is a criminal matter, and is decided by a criminal court. The accusation to the private association is a civil matter (or maybe not even), and the outcome of the criminal case has no bearing on it. You may have heard of OJ Simpson: he was found not guilty of murder in criminal court, but was found civilly liable for the wrongful death of his wife and her lover.

If you weren't given a fair hearing by the association, you might be able to sue for a re-hearing. Courts are generally (and rightly) reluctant to interfere in the private affairs of associations, but will in the right circumstances.

Whether the association can publish its finding is pretty much up to the rules constituting the association. I can't help you with those.

 

[bupo123]

Thanks for the answer. The case is of course a bit more
complexe than outlined here and civil law has been injured by the association as well, but that doesn't matter.

You may have heard of OJ Simpson: he was found not guilty of murder in criminal court, but was found civilly liable for the wrongful death of his wife and her lover.

OK, let's go from here: Could the private association
make a public statement then that OJ is a murder without consequences in the US? At least, at this side of the pond this would be absolutely impossible or with other words in my country one cannot make a statment somebody is a criminal if he isn't by proof and the publication would be stopped via injunction.

Courts are generally (and rightly) reluctant to interfere in the private affairs of associations, but will in the right circumstances.

I have read through the US doctrine a bit and would assume the case does qualify for court interference.
Question: Can I go to court from outside of US? What
needs the attorney (who most likely will be needed) to be specialized in? Thanks.

 

[dee_dub]

Could the private association make a public statement then that OJ is a murder without consequences in the US?

No, only criminal courts can make determinations of criminal guilt. But a civil court could (and did) proclaim that he is liable for the wrongful deaths.

If they're saying you committed a crime under the laws of the country, and you didn't, then yes you can probably get an injunction and sue for defamation.

If you belong to a private organization, you and the organization are governed by its rules. If, by whatever procedure the organization uses, it finds you contravened the rules, whatever rules those might be, I don't see any reason it couldn't publicize its finding. It can't say you're criminally guilty of murder or whatever, but it can release its findings.

I believe you can go to court from outside the US. Sounds like you need a lawyer versed in administrative tribunal law or something similar.