This is quite disturbing for ubm's too! jw spouses would not tell a ubm if they signed such a thing in my experience.
I wonder if it could be won in court using mental status of jw's or coecion in someway? Guess you would need one hell of an attorney to prove moral force or unfair persuasion, still it could be done or fought if you had enough money to begin with or some ex jw was an attorney and would take the case for the principle of the matter. May be worth it just for the publicity alone.
Proving an elder said they would get property back after the so called new system would be difficult (heresay). Even if they wrote it down the wt corp could say he acted alone.
coercion, in law, the unlawful act of compelling a person to do, or to abstain from doing, something by depriving him of the exercise of his free will, particularly by use or threat of physical or moral force. In many states of the United States, statutes declare a person guilty of a misdemeanor if he, by violence or injury to another's person, family, or property, or by depriving him of his clothing or any tool or implement, or by intimidating him with threat threat, in law, declaration of intent to injure another by doing an unlawful act, with a view to restraining his freedom of action. A threat is distinguishable from an assault, for an assault requires some physical act that appears likely to eventuate in violence,
..... Click the link for more information. of force, compels that other to perform some act that the other is not legally bound to perform. Coercion may involve other crimes, such as assault assault, in law, an attempt or threat, going beyond mere words, to use violence, with the intent and the apparent ability to do harm to another. If violent contact actually occurs, the offense of battery has been committed; modern criminal statutes often combine
..... Click the link for more information. . In the law of contracts, the use of unfair persuasion to procure an agreement is known as duress duress , in law, actual or threatened violence or imprisonment, by reason of which a person is forced to enter into an agreement or to perform some other act against his will.
..... Click the link for more information. ; such a contract is void unless later ratified. At common law, one who commits a crime under coercion may be excused if he can show that the danger of death or great bodily harm was present and imminent. However, coercion is not a defense for the murder or attempted murder of an innocent third party.
