Tuesday, November 10, 2009

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

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 OPINIONS
REGARDING 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 CONTACT
SHOULD 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

Monday, August 24, 2009

"Justice delayed is not justice denied"...John Tiedt

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/Guru_Sued_for_Alleged_Scam_Diet_Program_20090824

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Proposed Notice of Pendency of Class Action

This is NOT an official notice. This notice is proposed to the court by plaintiffs’ counsel June 26, 2009. If you choose to duplicate this notice on any blog or website, this notice MUST be included.




Sunday, December 21, 2008

Congratulations Heidi Diaz AKA Kimmer on Winning the 20th Annual Slim Chance Awards!!

Heidi says any publicity is good publicity so she must be sooooo proud at this. Heidi has won the 20th Annual Slim Change Awards for 2008! The article says:

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.

Friday, October 31, 2008

WATCH THE DUCK POOP

Have you ever been around a bunch of Ducks? Do you notice that if you walk behind them that you have to watch every step because they leave little droppings with almost every step they take? Have you ever seen how the Male Duck protects the Female Duck during mating season? He fights off any other Duck that comes near them.

Emotions are running high on the Kimkins.con controversy these days. It's been a year sense the start of the Class Action Law Suit to try to shut Kimkins.con and it's owner Heidi Diaz down from promoting her Low Calorie, Low Carb, Low Fat diet plan that she has been pushing on the Internet for over a year now.

Duck after Duck are running around leaving droppings wherever they go...you need to watch your step for fear of stepping in something you don't want to step in. Isn't it time for a little hibernation? Spread those wings and head South (to Corona) or something.

It's time for the Ducks to once again unite and ensure that all evidence against Heidi Diaz and her dangerous WOE is put out there for all the world to see how dangerous this WOE really is. There are many, many survivor stories as to what this WOE can do to someone who had no knowledge of a Low Carb lifestyle and believes what Heidi Diaz promotes.

Please, for your sake and everyone else's....Watch the Duck Poop!!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

SCAMMED...AGAIN AND AGAIN

Are you tired of being scammed by diet sites...again and again? Tired of these guys/gals taking advantage of your weakness at trying to lose weight over and over? Well, there is something you can do about it. You can fight back!!

The most recent and maybe deadliest diet scam to hit the Internet is the Kimkin's diet. There is currently a class action lawsuit against this diet site and the owner, Heidi Kimberly Diaz, who represented herself as someone who lost 200 lbs in a short time and used false pictures of herself (taken from a Russian Bride site) to prove it. Ms. Diaz took in over $1.2 Million Dollars promoting her site in June 2007, There is documentation of people suffering health issue due to her recommendations of doing a diet that promotes starvation levels (under 800 calories...she promoted 500 calories or less originally). False advertisement led many people to her site and she now is being investigated.

The Law Offices of Tiedt and Hurd (http://www.tiedtlaw.com/) have taken on the task of prosecuting Ms. Diaz and representing approximately 40,000 people who believed Ms. Diaz had the answers and were again scammed by a lying liar who lies.

If your tired of always being scammed by the diet industry or someone like Ms. Diaz, now is the time for you to fight back! If you have ever been a member of Kimkins.con or are a member of Kimkins.con, you need to stand up for your rights and help put this person behind bars!

Contact John Tiedt today (jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com) and stand up against diet fraud all over the world. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING!! Join the lawsuit!

Friday, May 9, 2008

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY....

Well I guess it’s time to come out of hiding and set some records straight. It seems the Fascination Thread is all a glow these days with one particular “supporter” of the Kimkins diet. Wow, so nice to see someone stand their ground and defend their WOE even when there is proof if it’s dangers.

Let me tell my story again with a little more insight.

I too was a very strong supporter of KK in the beginning. Check my posts over there, I was over 700+…loving the diet, supporting others and Kimmer. Eating between 100 – 500 calories as Kimmer suggested for her KE Plan, not having any hunger at all for the first time in my life (wow, what a feeling!). Made it so easy to go lower and lower.
One day, one of my group asked about the pictures of Kimmer. Well, I agreed they didn’t look like the same person so I posted a thread asking if they were they same person. Not knowing much about PMs and not know we could even PM Kimmer, I put it in the Ask Kimmer thread. Needless to say I got reamed a new one. Not only by posters but by Admin’s and a very lovely PM from the Kimmer herself.
At the time, guess I was one of the “lucky” ones as I did not get banned right away for it. How did I know that Cutie (sorry…just had to put you here, Cutie, lol) had been banned for the same thing just a short time before? Lol Anyway, I told Kimmer that it was an innocent question and if she felt it was so bad to just delete the thread. At the time, she did not (it is now gone).
Even after that I was still a firm believer in the WOE, losing weight every day and loving it and so far, feeling good (I thought). But, in the back of my head there was this little thing telling me there was something wrong with the “reaction” I got from Kimmer and her Admin’s. You know, that little voice that says something is just not right here? In addition to Kimmer PMing me, she also PM’d one of my group about the controversial pictures. In her PMs, we noticed she was “quoting” comments from OUR PM’s which she said your private and no one but us had access too. Another ummmm moment. Shortly after that, we moved to another site to support each other.
I continued to follow KK for another month as I was seeing results. What I wasn’t seeing and some of the things I wasn’t associating with the diet were things I didn’t want to see or know.
Now I’m not new to dieting. I have been overweight sense I was 5 years old. I’ve followed every diet known to man (and women, lol) and trust me…some may have not been a lot healthier than the KK one. But….never in my life have I had health problems with them.
My first and scariest sign of a problem, other than having to “force” myself to eat a meal (signs of an ED??), was the hair starting to come out. Now, being a fat lady and not having much about myself I liked, I did have nice hair! So you can imagine my dismay when I started losing it. I’m not talking about a little bit of hair falling out; I’m talking about it by the handfuls.
This is when I joined the FWK threads and learned a lot more about low cals, etc., than I ever wanted to know. I was shocked at what I learned. Well, that was the end of KK for me.
After stopping KK and now looking back, I can see things I did not notice while following that WOE. One was, it was very difficult to even try to eat more….signs of an ED. Scary…never thought I could be overweight and have an ED. I started forcing myself to try to eat more. There was the occasional wanting to binge too. At the time I didn’t realize the problem with the menstrual cycle stuff. I have been going through menopause for several years now and had progressed into the beautiful Night Sweats. These would wake me up every two hours just dripping, etc. Well, about a month into KK, these sweats stopped! Wow, I was finally over with menopause! What a relief! NOT! After getting off of KK and resuming a “normal” life if you will….the night sweats came back with a vengeance. Worse than I even had before. Not fun. So you see, at the time I had not associated it with following the diet.
I also put back on 20 lbs of the weight I had lost even though I was then following Atkins and watching my carbs and still only taking in 20 or less. What was this? It has been very hard for me to get my head around dieting again. Nightmares of going to low, losing hair, binging, starving, etc. All signs of following KK.
Yes, it works…..starvation works!! Only problem is….it is not without problems. Maybe not right away, but they will show and if you are smart enough to recognize where they came from, you are one smart cookie. Oh, did I mention the messed up metabolism and muscle loss? I lost so much muscle in my left arm that it caused rotator cuff problems from the strain and I have to have surgery next month to try to repair some of the damage and try to get the strength back. Yep, loved the diet!! I can count my blessings that it was not my heart!! So I guess I’m lucky that way.
So God Bless all of you who are losing weight on KK and loving it. I only wish you the best. I do notice that those of you, who have been successful on it, really do not follow it the way it was written. Those of you who say when Heidi says “only enough fat to make it work” really means you can have more than a “sprits” because it “works” for you. Those of you have added those olives, nuts, puddings, etc., because Heidi now allows it. Yep, Atkins did too. So you see….if you are adding that stuff, you are not really following Kimkins. Kimmer added that stuff AFTER she got caught with the lawsuit and HAD to change her diet to protect her millions. If you notice, she can’t even lose on her own diet…never could, never will.
While I’m on a roll here, let me address the lawsuit where a lot of you say people are only in it for the money. The lawsuit was started due to Heidi not honoring the lifetime membership she promoted. Defrauding people out of their money and not returning it when she every so politely banned them. Yeah, she now offers money back, why? Because her lawyer told her too. If she had her way…she’d keep it all. In addition to the fraud, the was the knowledge of the dangers of this WOE she was promoting. The people who joined the lawsuit under the guise of getting a refund as it was a valid excuse for a lawsuit, more than anything preferred to see the dangerous site shut down. Does John T. deserve his money? Dang right! He put a lot of time into the lawsuit. Are the Plaintiffs looking for money? NO!! The Plaintiffs want to save a life (or two). Hind site is 20/20 and even though those of you still there, still loosing weight, and still believing the lies will one day look back and say “wow, how could I have been so stupid as to not see the fraud and damage this WOE has caused?”
Again…Bless you and I only pray for your continued success and health.

(DISCLAIMER: To all of you English experts out there….I apologize for the spelling and grammar errors, lol. I’m the first to admit, I’m horrible at it all…live with it…the whole point is the story.)