Notice of Class Action

Here is the content of the Notice of Class Action Judgement against Heidi Diaz and Kimkins. IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS YOU NEED TO READ THIS AND FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

A PDF copy of the Judge's decision and order against HEIDI DIAZ and KIMKINS is available. I will send it to anyone/everyone who requests one.




John E. Tiedt [State Bar No. 134667]
Marc S. Hurd [State Bar No. 130667
TIEDT & HURD
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879
Telephone: (951) 549-9400
Facsimile: (951) 549-9800

Michael Lee Cohen (SBN 206253)
MICHAEL L. COHEN,
Cohen McKeon, LLP
1910 West Sunset Blvd., #440
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Telephone: (213) 413-6400
Facsimile: (213) 403-6405

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, RIVERSIDE COURT

JEANESSA FENDERSON; TRISTA ESSEX; KATHLEEN ROGERS; DIANA SHERBY; ANN MARIE WOOD; NANCY MCGREGOR, individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,

v.

HEIDI DIAZ; KIMKINS, an unknown business entity, and DOES 4 through 100, Inclusive,

Defendants.
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) Case No. RIC 483005

CLASS ACTION

NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION JUDGMENT



[Assigned to Judge Mark E. Johnson, Dept. 5]
Action Filed: October 15, 2007
Trial Date: October 25, 2010

A STATE COURT AUTHORIZED THIS NOTICE. YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SUED.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS NOTICE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE ENTITLED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RECOVERY FROM A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST HEIDI DIAZ AND THE WEB SITE KIMKINS.COM.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION REGARDING THE COURT’S JUDGMENT IN JEANESSA FENDERSON, ET AL. V. HEIDI DIAZ, ET AL, CASE NO. RIC 483005, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

YOU MUST ACT PROMPTLY IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE ANY PORTION OF THIS JUDGMENT.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

THE CONTENTS OF THIS NOTICE

WHY SHOULD I READ THIS NOTICE?

The purpose of this notice is to provide you with information regarding the Court’s judgment in Jeanessa Fenderson, et al. v. Heidi Diaz, et al, Case No. RIC 483005, in the Superior Court of the State of California, Riverside County, California. This notice also will provide you with the information you need to determine whether you are a member of the class and to obtain your share of the recovery as a member of the class.

WHY AM I GETTING THIS NOTICE?

You are receiving this notice because you might be a member of the class—that is, someone who purchased a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.

WHAT WAS THIS CASE ABOUT?

This lawsuit was based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Heidi Diaz and her Web site, www.kimkins.com, used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to fool them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit also was based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Website constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and the other defendants.

WHAT IS A “CLASS ACTION”?

A class action is a special type of lawsuit in which one person or a few people bring suit for all members of a similarly situated group to recover money for all members of the group, without each member of the group having to file his or her own lawsuit or appearing in the court. A class member is a person who participates in the class action and will be bound by any judgment or settlement in the case. Class actions may be used by courts when the legal claims and evidence appear to raise issues of law or fact that are common to all members of the class, this making it fair to apply any order, settlement, or judgment in the case to all class members.

WHO WAS INCLUDED IN THE CLASS?

In an order dated 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 www.kimkins.com by the plaintiffs and the members of the class. The Court defined the class 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.



WHAT HAPPENED AT TRIAL?

In late October 2010, the Court held a trial. After hearing and reading evidence presented by both sides, the Court concluded that the defendants had committed unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent acts in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code § 17200. The Court also concluded that the defendants had engaged in acts of negligent misrepresentation and fraud.

WHAT WAS THE COURT’S JUDGMENT?

On December 17, 2010, the Court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants. The Court ordered the defendants to post a notice on www.kimkins.com warning members and potential members that Diaz had used fraudulent and deceptive advertising to sell memberships for her diet plans and diet support system. The Court ordered the defendants to pay restitution to members of the class in the amount of $1,824,210.39, less any amount for memberships paid by members who previously had acted to opt out of the class. The Court also ordered the defendants to pay punitive damages in the amount of $500,000.

WHAT IF I WANT TO READ A COPY OF THE JUDGMENT FOR MYSELF?

You can read a copy of the judgment at Kimkins.com
Kimkinsblog.com
Kimkinslawsuit.com
Kimkinsscam.wordpress.com
Kimkinscontroversy.com
Kimkindangers.blogspot.com
Lowcarbfriends.com
Livinlavidalocarb.com
Kimkinsexposed2.wordpress.com
Saynotokimkins.wordpress.com
Kimkinssurvivors.wordpress.com
Tiedtlaw.com
prudentiablog.blogspot.com
affiliatescams.wurdmess.com
simpledietchoices.com
amyb1569.wordpress.com
kimkinsclassactionlawsuit.blogspot.com
mariasol-mariasol.blogspot.com
kimkinsdiettruth. blogspot.com
2medusa.com
kimkinsdiettruth.wordpress.com
kimkinsdangers.blogspot.com
honeybeesblog.wordpress.com
kimkinsnightmares.blogspot.com
stumblingtobethlehem.blogspot.com
kimtanicwordpress.com
kimorexia.blogspot.com
notmakingnicetokimkins.blogspot.com
thekimkinslie.blogspot.com
livinlocarbandlovinit.blogspot.com
apinchofhealth.com
pinchof.blogspot.com
cindysIowcarblife.blogspot.com
weight-in.blogspot.com
mayberryfan.blogspot.com
dietwhoas. blogspot.com
weighingthefactsblogspot.com
magicsmomsmusings.blogspot.com
the-journey-on.blogspot.com
wifezillasway.blogspot.com
sockittome.info
mariasols.com
campcarbaway.com
eatinglow.com
atkinsdietbuIletinboard.com
examiner.com
helpfindthemissin.org.

WHAT RIGHTS DO I HAVE?

If you purchased a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Website between January 1, 2006 and October 15, 2007, you may send in a claim for your pro-rated share of the proceeds that the attorneys are able to collect from the defendants. Since we do not yet know how much money the plaintiffs’ attorneys will be able to collect from the defendants, we cannot know at this time how much each member of the class will recover.

If you wish to receive your pro-rated share of these proceeds, you must send in a signed copy of the form provided at the end of this notice. You must send it to the following address:

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

To be eligible to receive your share of the recovery, the envelope with your signed form must be postmarked no later than midnight on November 7, 2011. So we urge you to act promptly.

HOW DO THE ATTORNEYS GET PAID? AND WHO PAYS THE COSTS FOR THIS LAWSUIT?

Class counsel—John E. Tiedt, Michael L. Cohen, and Ray Moore—represented the plaintiffs and the class members on a contingency-fee basis. After they have recovered what money they can from the defendants, they will file a request with the court for attorney fees and for reimbursement of the costs that they paid in bringing this lawsuit. The Court then will decide how much to pay them for their fees and how much they will be reimbursed for costs.



WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS ANY MONEY LEFT OVER?

By order of the Court, any money recovered that is not paid out to class members, to attorneys for fees, or to reimburse the attorneys for costs will be distributed to the Health Fraud Task Force of California.

WHAT IF I NEED MORE INFORMATION?

If you need more information, 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
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879

Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
1910 West Sunset Blvd., #440
Los Angeles, California 90026

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.

Heidi Diaz, Don't You Get It Yet?

Heidi, you have been given so many, many opportunities to DO THE RIGHT THING. Why will you not step up to the plate and simply DO IT. I'm sure now the excuse will be the lawsuit - you have proven over and over again that YOUR skin is more valuable than anyone else's.

Wait. Where have I heard that before? Just recently, too ...

Regardless, this has been posted recently on your site and has been posted elsewhere on the Internet:

2 Weeks, 2 Days ago:

Ok Ladies
I am having a hard time getting back on track.. I am having a hard time accepting compliments... I love to hear them but my brain is working overload on me.. I was in the 190's several weeks ago and now I am back up to 210.. I need to get back on track.. I so want to lose the weight.. but my brain is telling me something different... I am going to try today to get back on track...
XXXX- Sometimes it takes me awhile to get back into Ketios too.. You will get there... Hang in there..

XXXXX- Sorry what kind of surgery are you having? My mind is in a fog right now..lol
Yesterday:

Saw my heart doctor on Wed and had dizzy spell in his office.. He said I was skipping heart beats.. Did a ekg and my heart is fine... I still have no engery, fatiqued etc... He said he will keep on and keep looking as to why I am having some of these problems.. Other stuff is going on with my body.. I said I have had some of these problems for years and doctors would just do so much and then quit looking as to why I have these problems.. He said he wasnt quiting and will find out why.. He thinks its my thyroid or my adrenal glands are not working right.. I have alot of the sypotoms of them.. My sister had her thyroid taken out this past wed.. She is doing good..

I am back on plan today...and need to stay on plan no matter what.. I am back up to 220... I need to get that willpower back that I had when I started Kimkins almost a year ago next month...

This woman has apparently lost a significant amount of weight already following Kimkins. There have been many, many people who have left YOUR site, Heidi Diaz, with the same exact set of symptoms. Whether this woman has had these issues in the past or not is irrelevant. We all know that YOUR diet at the least exasperates these symptoms.

Dear sweet dieter, if you are reading here, please, please tell your doctor exactly what you ate and HOW MUCH you ate to lose your weight. You are in very serious danger here, and the person you are trusting to lead your through your diet journey could CARE LESS. Certainly not enough to advise you to stop immediately.

Others in the ex-KK community who have experienced similar symptoms, I pray that you will chime in here as well as find a way to reach out to this person.

The Draw

Cleochatra asked the following question on the Fascination with Kimmer thread yesterday:

“OK, so what is the draw to Kimkins today, May 12, 2008?

We now know that Kimmer did not have success with Kimkins because when the detective nabbed her she was morbidly obese.

We know that the plan is nearly impossible to maintain for any period of time, is based on plans which already exist and are meant for folks with metabolic resistance, and not as the means to long-term weight loss.

There is no maintenance plan.

Many have suffered frightening side effects.

The Better Business Bureau rated the plan/company an F.

The much-touted e-book ended up being an email.

This plan is so messed up that even though it originated at this board, these threads continue as documentation to the lunacy of Kimkins as a purported long-term, healthful diet and show it to be dangerous, lacking in nutrients, and as not necessary a successful plan, based on the plan's 'originator'.

In short: of it can't work for the person now in litigation, how can people realistically believe it will work for them? Even Dr. Atkins lost weight and kept it off!”


Clea, look at it through fresh eyes.

If you have never heard of Kimkins or Kimmer or Heidi Diaz, you stumble upon an advertisement and follow the link. You are met with a webpage that looks professional, has success stories, all the links lead to more success stories and a blog that is often full of good sounding information and encouraging words. You have tried every way you can think of to lose weight and it just doesn't happen. You are desperate for an answer, and here is this slick looking site. Why not? You've paid that much or more for stuff advertised on the midnight infomercial ... what's one more try?

What these people don't realize, and Dee doesn't consider, is that with the other things you've dumped your money into you haven't gotten the support you do with Kimkins. Well, Dee does realize that part. She’s repeated it over and over again. The problem is that support grounds you in this dangerous plan. While you may have been suckered before to buy stuff that is equally dangerous, you have never had the intense encouragement to actually implement it and keep at it REGARDLESS of the side effects, like SNATT. You start losing, your family and friends notice, you encourage your own mother and daughter to follow the plan, you ignore symptoms and you don't realize that all those "haters" were actually RIGHT until you are in SO deep. Now you have your ego in the mix.

Think about all the people who lost literally 30-60% of their hair and STILL kept (keep) at it! Consider the people who had (have) heart palpitations who were willing to still go back. Hmm ... I wonder where LauraLa is today and how she is eating now?

Anyway, Heidi managed to create an environment of acceptance and support that speaks far louder than common sense and self preservation. I guess that support IS self preservation in some cases. Many people have dealt with so much ridicule, judgment and discrimination for their weight – often at the hands of those who are supposed to love and accept them the most. Many more have hoisted upon themselves so much self-recrimination that they can hardly stand up under the weight of that anymore. Suddenly, they find a place where that isn’t allowed, at least initially. And not at the hands of the other paying members, certainly. It isn’t long, though, before the person they long to be accepted by (and her hired hands) uses that recrimination to keep them entrenched in the whole ordeal. People learn that if they behave, they are loved on. If they misbehave they are taken back to an uncomfortable place – the place where they are destined to stay fat, unloved and unacceptable. I honestly believe these folks who so adamantly defend her don’t picture her in their minds as the rest of us do. We see the woman depicted in the video from the deposition, smirking into the camera, asking if it is “too late to take that back”. Many of us play back in our minds the words she said over and over again about not wanting it bad enough, etc. only NOW, we see the words coming from the morbidly obese, smirking Heidi Diaz rather than the beautiful, svelte Kimmer. The woman saying she does not believe that her paying members are entitled to know that she has never lost the weight she proclaimed she did. The woman saying that lying about her program, her own weight loss, and the success of others on the program is all justified in the name of business. The Kimmer (or Kimmers, as DeeDLynn is so determined to call her) they picture and believe in is a fantasy – a character of Heidi’s own creation. How sad for them they day they actually come to grips with that fact. They spend their time on that board talking to a made up person. Someone who doesn’t exist in real life.

I’ve often wondered what Heidi gets from these folks once she has already gotten their money. The answer is POWER. Much like the power an abusive mother wields over her children, often well into their adulthood. She is a sick, warped Pied-Piper of sorts.

Such a pity that she didn’t use her gifts and talents for good, for the actual betterment of humankind.

Hey Heidi - I Hear That Train A Comin'!

Oh, and Heidi .... here is another present just for you ...

The Insider Exclusive video, featuring John Tiedt, Magicsmom, and Heidi Diaz is now up and running ...

Be sure to catch the early show!

INSIDER EXCLUSIVE

Just remember .... when you see the light at the end of the tunnel ... it just might be the train ...

What Do These Two Dieters Have In Common?

Dieter A:
B: 4 oz grilled turkey breast
S: 1 oz chicken and sugar free Jell-O
L: Sonic Grilled Chicken Salad – I ate the whole thing!
S: 1 oz chicken
D: Gorton’s Baked Fish Fillet, 1 cup broccoli
S: Sugar free Jell-O

Dieter B:
B: 2 Jimmie Dean Turkey Sausage, 1 boiled egg, Large cup of Black Coffee w/2 splenda packets
L: 2 ounces of Ground Chicken with lite Salsa ( Shellless taco's w/ no veggies)
Dr: 2 Ounce Chicken Breast and Boiled egg
S: 2 slices Turkey Bacon

Both of these dieters are following very low carbohydrate, low calorie diets. In fact, both dieters’ menus are under 750 calories. Both of these diets are internet based diet programs, available to “members” only for a one-time fee … one for $69.95, and the other for $79.95. In the case of both of these diets you are not “allowed” to view their diet guidelines before you pay your non-refundable (according to their Terms of Service statement ) membership fee.

Diet A: Diet guidelines say to try to keep calories between 800 and 1,200 calories per day.

Diet B: Diet website recommends a minimum of 800 calories.

Dieter B weighs 287 pounds. At that weight, her basic metabolic rate is around 1700 calories. Multiple medical sources recommend that your calories never drop below 1,200 for a female and 1,800 for a male, and even those numbers are considered low. As you can clearly see, either one of these diets is dangerously deficient, particularly for someone who is carrying around additional weight – which likely anyone initially participating in either one of these diet programs would be.

Are these just a couple of renegade dieters? I think not, but let’s see ---

Dieter A is ficticious – this daily menu is directly from the suggested menu offered by the developer of the diet. Hmm. Now, isn’t that a somethin’?

Dieter B – you be the judge. Below are several examples of daily menus of real dieters from that diet’s website. Interestingly enough, even though the developer of Diet B is currently in litigation and under investigation for fraudulent advertising and promoting a dangerous diet, she hasn’t stepped in to suggest these dieters should increase their caloric intake.

Anyway, let’s see – and please note, no two of these menus are posted by the same dieter and are from various threads.

Dieter C:
B-2 slices of turkey bacon
L- small bowl of boiled shrimp cooked in garlic
D-3oz Steak tip

Dieter D:
B-shake coffee
L-shake water
Do- turkey

Dieter E:
B: 2 pickled eggs, hot tea with one Sweet N Low
L: 2 ounces of chicken in FF mushroom gravy with extra mushrooms, salad with low cal dressing, and water
S: One piece of sugar free gum; a couple nuts (meaning only 3 or 4)
D: Roast beef from Arby's (on the road - ordered a sandwich and only ate the meat)

Dieter F:
B: 1 deviled egg
L: 1 shake
D: 4 oz of tilapia with lemon and herb and 1 half of a deviled egg.

Dieter G:
B coffee 2 hard boiled eggs
L chicken and a salad
D 2 hamburgers no bun nothing on them

Dieter H:
2 cups broth w/one egg in it
1 chicken breast.
1 diet coke w/splenda and water.

The other thing ALL of these dieters have in common is that they all feel desperate enough about their weight situation that they are willing to set aside all medical and scientific evidence to the contrary and believe these woman that these diets are safe. They are willing to disregard the clear, undisputable fact that neither of these woman have any medical or scientific training, have no expertise in the field of nutrition, have no experience beyond their own weight loss journeys – and one of them can’t even claim that!

These diets are unhealthy at best, and may well be considered dangerous if followed for any length of time. Promotion of these diets should be considered criminal.

Dieters, my heart breaks for you. I only wish I knew the words that could help you see how much you are risking by following these plans.