It's Another Kimkins Court Day!

There's hearing today for the Kimkins class action lawsuit. The court log is hard to read:

12/21/2009 9:00 AM DEPT. 02 HEARING RE: MOTION TO/FOR COMPEL FURHTER RESPONSES OF DEFENDANT TO PLAINTIFFS REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS BY JEANESSA FENDERSON

12/21/2009 9:00 AM DEPT. 02 HEARING RE: MOTION TO/FOR COMPEL FURTHER RESP & COMPLIANCE OF DEF TO PLTFS REQ PROD OF DOCS & THINGS SET FOUR BY JEANESSA FENDERSON, TRISTA ESSEX, KATHLEEN ROGERS

I'm not sure exactly what they'll cover. I hope they cover the absence of the court-ordered opt-out wording on the Kimkins home page. Seems like contempt to me. I think the motion to compel is regarding the need for Heidi Diaz to produce her member list so every member who joined her site can be notified of the suit and eventually get a little money back for the allegedly fraudulent marketing Heidi used to get people to join the site.

Copy of Official Notice of Pendency of Class Notice

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.

INTRODUCTION

1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.

2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.

3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.

THE LITIGATION

The Plaintiffs’ Claims

5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.

6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:

• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com

• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”

• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lied about “Drake’s” purported weight loss

• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Women’s World magazine

• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published on the Kimkins.com Web

• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements

• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law

• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships, when in fact Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim

• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.

The Defendants’ Position

7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.

THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER

8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.

9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.

THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONSREGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS

10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS

11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.

OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.

WHERE TO GO & WHOM TO CONTACTSHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION

13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:

• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.

• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and whom the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:

John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879

Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017

Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232

If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing. To make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond, however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.

There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class. So please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.

DATE: ___________________________, 2009____________________________________
Hon. _________________________,Presiding Judge

Minutes from yesterday's Kimkins lawsuit hearing

COURTS SUBSEQUENT RULING ON 10/27/09 @ 08:30 FOR DEPARTMENT 05 10/27/2009 - 8:30 AM DEPT. 05
HONORABLE MARK E JOHNSON, PRESIDING
CLERK: M. MARTINEZ
COURT REPORTER: NONE
COURT SUBSEQUENTLY RULES:
ORDER REGARDING CLASS NOTICE: THE COURT FINDS THAT CLASS MEMBERS SHOULD BE
ALLOWED TO OPT OUT IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLASS ACTION CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ENTITLED ACTION.
THE CLASS ACTION WAS NOT CERTIFIED FOR THE PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS ALLEGED BY CLASS
PLAINTIFFS. FAILURE TO ALLOW CLASS MEMBERS TO OPT OUT OF THE ACTION MAY IMPAIR OR ELIMINATE
POTENTIAL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS BECAUSE A JUDGMENT IN THIS ACTION COULD BAR RECOVERY IN
ANY LATER PERSONAL INJURY ACTIONS BROUGHT BY CLASS MEMBERS AGAINST DEFENDANTS. (SEE HICKS V.
KAUFMAN & BROAD (2001) 89 CAL.APP.4TH 908 924-925.)
THUS, IT APPEARS THAT THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPT OUT OF THIS CLASS ACTION IS NECESSARY. (SEE
PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. V. SHUFFS (1985) 472 U.S. 797, 811-812.) ACCORDINGLY, PLAINTIFFS PROPOSED
CLASS NOTICE NEEDS A STATEMENT WHICH GIVES POTENTIAL CLASS MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE SUFFERED
PERSONAL INJURIES AN APPROPRIATE CAVEAT REGARDING POTENTIAL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS,
PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPT OUT, AND PROVIDES A PROCEDURE FOR OPTING OUT. (SEE
CHAVEZ V. NETFLIX (2008) 162 CAL.APP.4TH 43, 57.)
IN ADDITION, PLAINTIFFS SUBMISSION DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY CLASS NOTICE CANNOT BETTER BE
PROVIDED THROUGH DEFENDANTS OWN WEBSITE TO ALL PERSONS WHO SIGNED UP THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
ACCORDINGLY, THE COURT ORDERS THAT CLASS NOTICE SHALL BE PROVIDED THROUGH DEFENDANTS WEBSITE.
THE COURT MAKES THIS DECISION BECAUSE THE LAWSUIT HAS ALREADY BEEN REFERENCED ON THE
KIMKINS WEBSITE. THE NOTICE MAY BE THROUGH A LINK ON THE WEBSITE WHICH LEADS TO THE CLASS
NOTICE.
FINALLY, ALL REFERENCES TO THE "PENDING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT" SHALL BE REMOVED FROM THE
CLASS NOTICE.
NOTICE TO BE GIVEN BY COURT
CLERK'S CERTIFICATE OF MAILING RE: SUBSEQUENT RULING
NOTICE SENT TO MICHAEL L COHEN A PROFESSIONALLAW CORP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO MOORE WINTER MCLENNAN LLP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO TIEDT & HURD ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO LAW OFFICE OF TIMOTHY P PEABODY ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO LAW OFFICES OF COTTLE & KEMP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO COTTLE & KEEN ON 10/27/09

Oh my gosh, my day has totally been made!

So in court today, the Judge approved the opt-out notice. Another step toward getting this thing wrapped up. The opt-out notice is for people who want to opt out of the class action lawsuit in case they want to sue her individually for personal injury, etc. The notice will have to be posted on the Kimkins website(!) as well as any other sites that want to post it. All good.

But it got so much better when Heidi Diaz' attorney decided to try to intimidate John in the hallway after the hearing and made a fool of himself in front of plenty of witnesses! Not just once... but twice! Apparently after the first time, he didn't cool off but decided to come back for more once they were outside! Ohhhhh how I wish I could have seen John handle him like a pro!

Today's Kimkins spam...

It's so odd to me that the Kimkins spam keeps pouring out, despite this week's court hearing to work out the details for the opt-out process for the class action lawsuit. This lawsuit IS going forward. If Heidi Diaz recruits new members now, knowing the viability of diet scam site is in serious jeopardy, will these new clients have any recourse?

I'm also really surprised that SingingLass / Delaney continues to let Heidi Diaz profit from her success story & photos. Has she continued toward her weight loss goals? Does she still consider Kimkins a sustainable diet? Hard to say, as the last time I heard there were no signs of her at Kimkins. Does she resent having been terribly used by Heidi Diaz? I really don't understand the loyalty - or fear? - that has kept Delaney from turning her back on Heidi and slamming the door.

Do new members wonder why the success stories aren't at Kimkins? If I joined the site after seeing in a promotion that Delaney had lost 130+ pounds at Kimkins, I'd really expect to see here there, wouldn't you?

Court Update

Mariasol has an update on the court hearing here:
http://mariasol-mariasol.blogspot.com/2009/10/kimkins-court-hearing.html

Today's the big day! (Again!)

Today is the hearing for the Kimkins class action lawsuit motion for summary judgment (again!). Here's hoping there are no more delays! Don't laugh at me. I'm allowed to hope!

I'm starting to see why so many companies get away with fraudulent marketing. It takes a lot of endurance to put a stop to it! I still get irritated every time I see a copy of Woman's World magazine on the rack! Maybe I should do like Kate Gosselyn does and turn them around while I stand in line waiting to check out, LOL!

Kimmer says "Weight Loss Without Exercise! Yes!"

More Kimkins spam today.

This woman:

Says this:

With Kimkins you take a thermogenic fat melting short cut! You can lose faster than the 3,500 calories = 1 mile (she means pound) rule. Kimkins is low carb and low fat which means quick weight loss! Love working out? Great! You'll speed things up even more -- but non-exercisers lose quick, too.

It's simply incredible that she keeps charging money to give diet advice. Here's hoping that TOMORROW'S big court date (Kimkins class action lawsuit motion for summary judgment hearing) is a big step forward!

Will you take the 1-2 pounds a week, or what's behind door #2?

In this morning's issue of Kimkins spam, which I am getting a ton of this week, Heidi Diaz gives readers something to ponder. She starts out with an appeal to heavier dieters, trying to whisper to their special needs to lure them to her site:

Losing weight is different when you're morbidly obese. That "lose 1-2 pound a week" advice is meaningless to very overweight people.

1-2 pounds a week is not meaningless at all. In fact, if she'd followed a good and healthy weight management plan instead of her hazardous Kimkins yo yo diet plan for the years that she lied about who she is and what she's selling, she'd be at her goal weight instead of hiding from cameras and process servers. She'd have something to be proud of, and maybe even have a successful and marketable forum. What the heck does she know about helping very obese people get permanently thinner and healthier?

Nothing. That's what she knows. Are you buying?

Russian Brides: East meets west meets cheap

At least this guy knows what he's getting before he decides to pay.

How's that workin' for ya?

Here's the kind of diet advice you can expect from Kimkins diet founder Heidi Diaz.

While giving this advice, she swore for years that this is her (this is the Russian bride model she photonapped):

But really the woman making people sick with her hazardous diet advice looks like this (deposition photo):


And she has the nerve to ask ''How's that workin' for ya?'

I saw this and immediately thought of Kimkins!

The 15 Most Shameless Fake Photos Ever Passed Off as Real

I bet the pictures of Heidi and some of her success "stories" could compete with these any day!

The motion for summary judgment was NOT denied!

Here's the proof:

Say No to Kimkins: Heidi Can't Handle The Truth

Copy of court document

Looks like Heidi Diaz' loose relationship with the truth continues.

Delayed But Not Deterred!

Today's hearing didn't end like we'd hoped. My understanding is that this matter has been continued to October 15. I'll post links to what happened today as soon as the facts are known.

Will Kimkins Founder Heidi Diaz Face the Music Today?

As I'm writing this, the big court hearing is about one hour away. During the discovery phase, huge volumes of evidence of fraudulent marketing for the Kimkins diet were compiled. Heidi Diaz' lies are carefully documented, including some big fat confessions when it became impossible to maintain the lies. This evidence took a couple of years to compile, by dozens of dedicated volunteers outraged at the deception (not to mention the dangerous diet itself). This evidence was pretty hard to find, thanks to the lies about lies about lies!

So much evidence was collected that now there is a motion for summary judgment to be evaluated in court today. Basically it says that there is so much evidence that it would be best to quit belaboring this thing and just get to the conclusion right away. I do hope that the judge rules in our favor! If he doesn’t, that certainly doesn’t signify defeat. It will just mean we need to continue being patient.

So many people have been hurt by this woman, and financially she benefited significantly from her lies and bullying and 'mistakes'. From my perspective, they were not mistakes but were calculated decisions made for only her own benefit. It's time for that to stop!

Thanks to everyone involved in this fight!

Here's the first news story I've found about today's court action:
Guru Sued for Alleged Diet Scam

Countdown To Kimkins Summary Judgment Hearing

Big court date for Kimkins coming up!

It's August and the Heat is ON!

Upcoming Kimkins court action:

08/24/2009 8:30 AM DEPT. 05 HEARING RE: MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON 3RD AMENDED COMPLAINT OF JEANESSA FENDERSON

I don't think I'll ever listen to this song the same way again!

Kimkins Lawsuit Update

Please read the Proposed Notice of Pendency of Class Action, shared on the Kimkins Lawsuit blog.

Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit Update: Motion for Summary Judgment Filed

I don't know anything about lawsuits. If you'd asked me two years ago if we'd still be waiting, I'd have said no way since the evidence is so overwhelming! It's amazing how slowly the wheels of justice have to turn. Of course, having a defendant and her two attorneys trying their best to slow things down as much as they can, these things happen I guess!

We're reaching the point we've all been waiting for. John has filed the motion for summary judgment. You can read about it here. Apparently the carefully collected and catalogued evidence is laid out in a very thorough motion to the courts. It hasn't been posted at the court site just yet, but I can't wait to read it all! I imagine there are details I've forgotten in this long journey!

If you want to read the motion, keep an eye out at the Riverside County Court website. Select Case Name Search. Search for Diaz, Heidi. The case number is RIC483005.

Kimkins Attorney Threatens Another Blogger for Speaking the Truth About His Client

This time it's AvenueGirl. (Hi Avenueirl!) Go read about it here, and savor the humor of it all. What an unprofessional thing to do! I wonder how the judge will view this stunt... This attorney knows why the KK counter-suit was tossed out of court, right?

I don't know whether to hope he's getting paid by the hour and it's costing his client big, or hope he's doing this special bonus work for free because that's all it is worth. Reading his motions makes me think he might be getting paid by the word.

Class Certified!

The judge certified the Kimkins class for the lawsuit. (Again, thanks to the bankruptcy stall tactic.)

The next big court date is June 8. Not long to wait this time!

Thanks, John! You do such great work!

Today is a big Kimkins court day!

Today is the day the judge will evaluate the certification of the class again. It was certified earlier in the year but voided (that may not be the right term) by Heidi's attempt to declare bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was rejected, so we're headed back to court.

The evidence is all on our side, and John is ten times the attorney Peabody is, but it couldn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed!

Jenny Craig and Slim Fast are not torture... How about Kimkins?

Please note that this is NOT a political blog. Set aside the politics of this article, and focus on this part about using reduced calories as an interrogation technique:

In an effort to rationalize the use of dietary manipulation on detainees, Bush administration officials turned to Slim Fast and Jenny Craig.

In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general's office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.

"While detainees subject to dietary manipulation are obviously situated differently from individuals who voluntarily engage in commercial weight-loss programs, we note that widely available commercial weight-loss programs in the United States employ diets of 1000 kcal/day for sustain periods of weeks or longer without requiring medical supervision," read the footnote. "While we do not equate commercial weight loss programs and this interrogation technique, the fact that these calorie levels are used in the weight-loss programs, in our view, is instructive in evaluating the medical safety of the interrogation technique."

So a 1000 calorie diet is not torture, it just feels like it. But what about the "lower the better" Kimkins diet? Since most Kimkins members are eating less than that, and many only a third that much... does Kimkins pass the torture test? Hmmmm... I'd ask the people damaged by Kimkins, over at the Kimkins Survivors blog, many with long term or permanent physical and emotional damage from the experience!

I was really scratching my head at the logic of the bolded parts. It's medically safe because people do it voluntarily???? That people do it is instructive?

¡Ay, caramba!

Kimkins Goes Viral

Heidi Diaz promotion of Kimkins has reached a new level recently, as she's apparently discovered the power of social networking sites. Kimkins is on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. She's even on a site where you can hire people by the minute for advice. Her uhhhhhhh.... marketing... is spreading faster than the plague. I hope the truth is easy enough to find now that not many more people will fall for the scam. (Hint - don't invest $80 on a diet site that's facing class action lawsuit and bankruptcy!)

Read Becky's commentary at the Winning Weight Loss blog:
When Social Networking is Social Contagion

(Becky, it's good to see you blogging again!)

For more commentary about viral marketing, read this:
The fascinating plague of viral marketing

Kimkins Bankruptcy Case Dismissed

The bankruptcy case has been dismissed. Hopefully this means the class action lawsuit can resume ASAP!

I guess the bad guy doesn't always win!

Diaz Case is Dismissed

Heidi Diaz Bankruptcy Dissed and Dismissed

Kim Kardashian on the Photoshop Diet

Here we go again! Being attractive and healthy isn't good enough. Even Kim Kardashian requires slimming down, cellulite blurring, and lightening of her skin color. The point of this is what? Darn if I know, other than to perpetuate unattainable standards for 'beauty'. This bastardization of images of women plays into why we fall for predators hawking scams like dangerous crash diets and ineffective/dangerous supplements. We deserve better than this!

What's Heidi Pushing Now?

Anything for a buck, I tell ya. On her blog, expert dieter Heidi Diaz is now promoting Alli, exercise equipment, workout DVDs and diet supplements. Now tell me, why would anyone need any of those things if the Kimkins diet was all she said promotes it to be?

Is the weight loss debate over?

Nope

Another study gets it wrong and then claims to have proven what they set out to prove.

Kimkins and Bariatric Surgery

Heidi Diaz is still defending ultra low calories on her crash diet Kimkins website, comparing it to post-bariatric surgery diets. Where her comparison falls apart is that post-surgical patients are elaborately supplemented and medically supervised. And yet... horrific medical complications are not rare! Check out this post from Sandy over at Junkfood Science. It's really sobering stuff. If patient health can be damaged this badly WITH medical supervision, imagine how much more likely it is when taking advice from an internet diet 'expert' with absolutely no qualifications? One of her clients has been eating 470 to 700 calories per day and has stopped losing weight, and Heidi told her that she might be getting more calories than she thinks and should be more strict, and that she shouldn't eat more. It's no wonder people emerge from that site with eating disorders and illness. Fortunately, I didn't see Heidi recommend a laxative this time!

Another important point is that if Heidi Diaz' crash diet was such a good thing, then why is she overweight and sick, and unable to lose weight no matter what she does? She's selling the very advice that got her where she is today. It's easy to guess that she's completely destroyed her metabolism from crash dieting off the weight over and over.

Say NO to Kimkins!

John Tiedt scores! 7 times!

What is 7 scores? Double hat trick with a cherry on top?

All seven of the motions to quash were granted today. Heidi Diaz' attempt to intimidate the Kimkins class action lawsuit plaintiffs via a counter-suit just went down in flames.

Way to go, John Tiedt!

Ya snooze, ya lose...

Ya snooze, ya lose... That would make a good blog post - how getting enough quality sleep helps you lose weight! But that's not what this is about.

Last week, Heidi Diaz failed to appear for her court date regarding certification of the class for the fraudulent marketing lawsuit for the Kimkins diet website. That didn't turn out well for her. Class certified. Go John Tiedt!

She also didn't respond by the deadline to the motions regarding lack of jurisdiction over the people served in her idiotic counter-suit. John is on top of it - of course! Due to non-opposition, the motion to quash should be granted. Go John! She can't blame her attorney for this one, since she's now representing herself.

The counter-suit intimidation tactic isn't turning out very well for Heidi.

Kimkins Lawsuit - Thank You to Everyone!

To Jeanessa:
Thank you so much for getting the ball rolling!

To the lawsuit principles:
You stood up for what you felt was right. You became targets of the counter-suit. Because you took a stand, it is likely justice will be served!

To John Tiedt:
You are a good man, doing a wonderful job fighting for what you think is right. I know you'll never be compensated adequately for how hard you are working and the personal sacrifices you are making.

To the ducks, sleuths, bloggers and cheerleaders:
Thank you for getting the word out so others might not be scammed. Thank you for sacrificing your time to dig relentlessly, gathering overwhelming evidence. Thanks for standing up to everyone who told you to shut up and that you were wrong, liars, haters, etc.

To LowCarbFriends:
Thank you for providing a place for people to gather and communicate. Without it, I'd have missed out on making a lot of new friends. And without it, it would have been so much harder for us all to work together. Thank you to the moderators for staying out of it when things got heated, and stepping in when things got too vicious.

Thank you also to all the people behind the scenes who take the time to receive, organize, catalog and fetch exactly what John needed whenever the need came up.

The case isn't over yet, but this week's class certification is a major, major milestone, and we deserve to celebrate!

PS: I hope I didn't leave anyone out!

Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit - CERTIFIED!

It's a long process, but it works!




Case RIC483005 - FENDERSON VS DIAZ
Action:

HEARING RE: MOTION TO/FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION * BY JEANESSA FENDERSON
01/14/2009 - 8:30 AM DEPT. 04

HONORABLE MICHAEL B DONNER, PRESIDING
CLERK: L. HALL
COURT REPORTER: T. FOSTER
JEANESSA FENDERSON, KARIN BILLECI, TRISTA ESSEX, HEIDI MARTINEZ, KATHLEEN ROGERS, DIANA SHERBY REPRESENTED BY MICHAEL L COHEN A PROFESSIONALLAW CORP - JOHN TIEDT PRESENT.
MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION IS GRANTED.
FORMAL ORDER TO BE PREPARED, SERVED AND SUBMITTED BY COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

Well, well, well... there's a new diet site on the market!

I won't link to it here because I don't want to provide backlinks, but it's called Simple Choices Diet.

Go ahead. Guess who owns it!

I have this little visual in my mind, of Heidi facing the bankruptcy attorney, wearing the same red jacket she wore for her famous 'is it too late to take that back' deposition. She'll tell the judge that if he'll just clear her from her financial burdens, she'll never need a 4th bankruptcy because she's starting another diet website. An honest one this time. Except wait, there's more... the owner of the trademarked Simple Choices Diet isn't too happy about her alleged infringement. Maybe she'll say her new diet site is MOSTLY hontest.

Think he'll buy it?

Considering Kimkins? NOT SO FAST!

Hold on to your wallet! Kimkins (Heidi Diaz) filed for bankruptcy yesterday. This is her 3rd one. Just months after buying a $400K house and a couple of cars for cash. There's something unfair about that, don't you think? She allegedly schemes, racks up debt, and leaves her creditors holding the bag. If you're considering a new diet for 2009, Kimkins isn't it! She doesn't deserve your money, her diet is junk, and you'll be out $80 and looking for a new forum when the Kimtanic sinks.

This puts other litigation against her on hold, unfortunately. The class action lawsuit for fraudulent marketing, the suit filed by the city of Corona, and the student loan lawsuit. She's bought herself some time, though I'm not sure what for. (Maybe she's trying to get her next diet website off the ground - remember, she promised she was going to do that if Kimkins went down!) If she was so sure she was going to win and keep the $2+ million she pocketed marketing a diet that doesn't work long term, using photos of Russian brides, it seems like she'd want it all over. At any rate, this weeks court dates are postponed. I guess that's why she doesn't need her attorney any more. I wonder what happens when you default on payments to an attorney? Yeouch.

At any rate, I wonder how the judges involved are going to view this move? I can't wait for the next chapter.

Related posts:
Kimkins.com goes to court to declare bankruptcy
Magicsmom’s Musings: Heidi Diaz files bankruptcy!
What Makes a Credit Criminal?
S.O.S.
What a Tangled Web

Resolve not to get RIPPED OFF this year!

It pays to arm yourself with information to protect yourself from getting scammed. Here's a good resource for checking out health-related scams:

National Council Against Health Fraud

The home page includes links to investigations, research and publications. Very handy.

Last week's edition of their Consumer Health Digest includes a link to the 20-year archive of Slim Chance Award winners! So handy if you want to check out a diet product or site!