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... 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.
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!
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
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?
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
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!
Great summary, Cleochatra!
Sometimes it feels like ages with no action in this Kimkins Class Action lawsuit, but sure enough it's moving forward.
You've won the SLIM CHANCE AWARDS!
To call 2008 a typical year in the weight loss field would be too easy. This year’s awards go to an infamous huckster of diet infomercials, known for his outrageous disregard of injunctions against him; $139 body-shaping jeans impregnated with substances that supposedly reduce cellulite; a pill that’s “proven” to make your belly fat vanish; and a dangerous starvation diet launched recklessly on the Internet with false promises of safe, fast and permanent weight loss.
WORST PRODUCT: Kimkins diet. It must have seemed an easy way to get rich quick. Founder Heidi "Kimmer" Diaz set up a website and charged members a fee to access the Kimkins diet, boasting they could lose up to 5 percent of their body weight in 10 days. "Better than gastric bypass," there was "no faster diet" and in fact she herself had lost 198# in 11 months. Stunning "after" photos were displayed. In June 2007 Women's World ran it as a cover story, and that month alone PayPal records show the Kimkins site took in over $1.2 million. Then users began complaining of chest pains, hair loss, heart palpitations, irritability and menstrual irregularities. This was not surprising since Kimkins is essentially a starvation diet, down to 500 calories per day and deficient in many nutrients (shockingly, laxatives are advised to replace the missing fiber). In a lawsuit, 11 former members are uncovering a vast record of Diez’s alleged fraud. They found that the stunning “after” photos, including one of Kimmer herself, had been lifted from a Russian mail order bride site. According to a deposition reported by Los Angeles TV station KTLA, Diaz admitted using fake pictures, fake stories and fake IDs, and a judge has allowed the litigants to freeze some of her assets.
The motion for Class Certification for the Kimkins lawsuit was filed last week. Mariasol has a great summary of the massive document here. Good job, Mariasol - and thank you!
She may be one of the most beautiful women in the world... but that doesn't stop Jessica Alba from getting airbrushed...
Airbrushed photos does sound like Kimkins, but of course we all know that Alba wasn't on Kimkins and that it was a lie to lure young women to the site. (I don't have to say allegedly - Heidi Diaz confessed to it in her deposition.) But I digress... this post isn't about Kimkins, though it's about one of the main reasons women get desperate enough to do Kimkins!
Just look at what they've done to Jessica Alba because apparently she's just not skinny enough for print:
Swallow your coffee first, then go read Mayberryfan's blog post. Here's a spoiler:
Heidi Diaz is planning...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
yet another Kimkins Vegas get-together!
I told you to swallow your coffee!
She planned one once and cancelled at the last minute for an emergency.
Then she planned another one and cancelled at the last minute for an emergency.
Now she's planning another one... can anyone predict what'll happen?
Say, since we're talking about Vegas, shall we start some serious wagers?
The most interesting part for me was Mayberryfan's observation on Heidi's new signature line, borrowed from a minister:
"Don't talk about the way you are, talk about the way you want to be."... Pastor Joel OsteenPoetic, don't you think? Or is it that other p-word that ends in 'etic'?
How did I not know that piracy was still rampant in this day and age? Until the past couple months news stories about it, I had no clue!
This morning I was listening to a story on NPR about the huge problem of trafficking of Russian women. I had some sense of this, after poring over Russian bride websites for weeks in search of the phony Kimkins success photos. But wow... the real problem isn't as tidy as women looking for husbands in other countries as a ticket for happiness. Many of the women are coerced into it, while others are just desperate for a better life. At first thought, it makes me so very glad I live in the US, but women are exploited everywhere including here. It's so pervasive that we often are immune to it. Entire industries are devoted to it, especially the diet industry, the media, the 'health' industry... anywhere there is a possible vulnerability or need, someone is ready to pounce on it for their own gain.
What century is this?
There is a request for information for the Kimkins lawsuit on Prudentia's blog. The immediate need is for people who were banned from Kimkins to email KimkinsCase@gmail.com - even if you have already joined the lawsuit. Prudentia is collecting materials for the attorneys. Please read Prudentia's blog for information about the other materials needed for evidence.
Thank you!
OYB
I read a blog post this morning about a Kimkins dieter who has been experiencing health problems. (More here, and here, and similar stories on the Kimkins Survivors blog) It really scared me. I thought it sounded like she was displaying serious signs of malnutrition/undernutrition, similar to the symptoms weight loss surgery patients can face. (Kimkins is marketed as an alternative to weight loss surgery - calories are similarly suppressed but without surgical intervention.)
Here is one list of symptoms of malnutrition, obtained here:
feel tired and weak
low energy levels
difficulty losing weight
can't easily get to sleep
stressed and/or nervous
drowsiness during the day
can't concentrate or get confused easily
digestion problems
constipation or hard stools
mood swings or easily upset
no patience for anything
feel depressed
overly dry or oily skin
nausea or abdominal pain
annoying eye twitches
bruise easily
muscle cramps
lower back pain
nails are thin or brittle
hair loss
water retention
don't eat well-balanced meals every day
These symptoms don't magically resolve when you take a vitamin - these symptoms are signs of damage that can be very difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.
For more information about nutrition and weight loss, Bamagal's Back Across the Line blog is really valuable.
Derek, you said you only posted your success story because you're proud of your weight loss, which you achieved by eating basic low carb, ignoring the Kimkins plan details, and not participating at the website. You said you don't endorse or promote Kimkins.
Derek, this ad says otherwise. Did you consent to this? Are you getting a cut of the profits? Is it OK with you that the odds are statistically zero that they will achieve the results you did? That they'll be out $80? That their money went to support the site that is facing class action lawsuit for fraudulent marketing? That they will probably quit the plan because it's 'too strict' (nutritionally bankrupt) or they'll actually DO the diet and end up with symptoms like the people on the Kimkins Survivors? And you are OK with Heidi Diaz using you to get people to join. Did you know the Better Business Bureau gave Kimkins an F rating?
If you are really only in this to inspire others and show them what is possible, then why not tell your story at any number of free weight loss websites? Why be a cover model for Kimkins? Really, I do not get it. Is there something in it for you?
Update: AffiliateScams has more on this topic.
Heidi Diaz is still banning Kimkins members!
The Kimkins lawsuit is still ongoing. Check here for important information.
Tippy Toes posted recently about getting served in the Kimkins counter-suit. The counter-suit is basically targeted at anyone who ever disagreed with Heidi Diaz about anything as far as I can tell. It's ridiculous. As far as I can see, the only thing Heidi will get out of it is the glee at forcing people to pay the $300 filing fee. She won't have the last laugh, though.
Tippy didn't do anything to deserve to be sued. She was humiliatingly loyal to Heidi - on national television, even. When she finally realized how she was being used and how she was aiding a scam, she went off and quietly started her own private forum. No crime in that. People from Kimkins were welcomed, but they weren't required to LEAVE Kimkins to join, so how did that hurt Heidi Diaz or her business?
Heidi is just lashing out irrationally and it's going to cost her even more money in the end. Tippy, I'm sorry you had to pay that money. It's a better investment than the stock market, right? You're in good hands with John Tiedt!
Mayberryfan has a new post up, with a recent response from Heidi Diaz / Kimmer to one of her paying customers regarding medical symptoms she's experiencing on the Kimkins diet:
Kimkins Dieter in Danger
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