Justice? You deserve this

Please spread this message far and wide to others who may have been harmed. Sisters, mothers and daughters. Your time is now.
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

For 40,000 Survivors, there is relief

Please visit this link for more information about how to stand up and make your voices heard.

http://kimkinsclassactionlawsuit.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-is-not-official-notice.html

kat

I began Kimkins about a year ago. Originally I was drawn to it because of what it offered. . . fast results. I liked that I could pay a fee for her site and have menus, recipes and access to her right from the beginning. I haven’t been a lifelong dieter, in fact I had only been on Atkins one time in my life, after my son was born in 2000. This seemed like a healthier option, as it was low calorie low fat and low carb.

Almost immediatly I began to wonder about the reality of this low carb diet. I found it difficult to follow with the right amount of lettuce, and was surprised to see people advocating less veggies. I decided to do her “kimkins experiment” and only eat eggs and meat, nothing else. Well, it worked fantastically. I begin dropping weight like crazy. I asked how long I could stay on this experiment and was told indefinatly, she encouraged my weight loss, encouraged me for doing so well.

Silly me, being a college student and working full time, as well as being a single mother of many children, I guess it felt good to have somebody notice my efforts. I began posting a bit more, sharing my advice with others.

I began to feel more tired, more worn out then ever. I wondered about this because my one time dieting on Atkins I had SO much more energy. . . I was told this was normal. I wondered when my legs began cramping until I couldn’t even walk or move hardly at all. . . but again this was normal.

I tried exercising but I would exhaust after only ten minutes. I asked about this, but was convinced it was only due to a new piece of exercise equipment. When I began getting heart palpitations and a serious choking feeling, I began to get worried that something was seriously wrong.

In the matter of four months I went from 227 pounds to 172, just over fifty pounds. I knew I could lose more if I just focused more. . . I tried boot camp, but I literally passed out one day trying to exercise. . .

Finally, common sense regained itself, and I realized I was not well. I thought it was just me, as I am hypo-glycemic. I figured that I would just go away because I knew that mentioning any negative side effects on the site made people angry.

Over the next several months, I have gained back almost all of the weight. I was scared to death to try Atkins again, I was convinced from Kimkins how unhealthy “all those fats were”

This January first, I decided to start again, I went back to kimkins.com and have also went to other boards I used to frequent. I was . . . and am. . . shocked and appalled to learn about “kimmers” and her reality. To think that she was so harsh with so many of us about sticking to the diet, eating right, staying on track.

I feel victimized, I feel stupid that at 32 years of age, with a college degree. . . I was so easily duped by her. I am angry and humiliated.

I am glad this site is here, I have no idea what to think now. I will find my way through this maze of uncertainty somehow, I just sincerely hope others do as well.

Traci

Hello All,

Wow your stories are heartbreaking. I’m grieved to hear of the many issues you have had with Kimkins.

I have been on Kimkins since June of 07 and yes I lost hair (I have inreased my carbs and calories and still lose). So I went to my Dr. and discussed Kimkins with her and my hairloss. She researched kimkins and gave me a clean bill of health and assured me that as I reached my goal weight and began maintenance and increased my calories that my hairloss would stop. She was absolutely correct all of these things have corrected itself. I have realized that I have to be smart in the way I eat. What does that mean? From the time I spoke with my Dr. to present I no longer allow my calories (When I’m actually counting) to drop below 1200/1500 a day. Yes, I still lose and am much healthier. I usually have two low carb meals a day and a regular meal with my family at dinner and am still able to lose, it all has to do with portion control. I do not support taking laxatives daily to move things through. That is very dangerous!

It is very important that you have veggies everyday. I believe with any WOE you have to listen to your body and not allow yourself to fear food. Elohim did not create food for us to fear it, He created it to sustain us.

Thank you for your concern and your help to those who are severly wounded by this WOE, however everyone has to work smarter with ANY WOE.

Please, understand that I’m not here to endorse all of the ways Kimkins has done things and I agree that IF this WOE of eating is taken to an extreme it can and will be detrimental to your health.

Thank you for your blog space
Traci

wackytobeme

Wow, I joined KimKins in June or July of ‘06. In the beginning I did read posts by “kimmer” and the others, being the site was new, it was easy to keep up. I didn’t jump into the diet or forums because I was waiting to read the e-book that was promised as part of my membership. I was looking forward to all the information being in one handy place and be able to print it out so I could read it elsewhere. Well, that e-book never happened. Over the prevailing months I basically only went to the site to read the success stories. There seemed to be new ones everytime I visited.
There was one in particular that caused me to raise my eyebrows. A “Victoria” who was a dancer and lost 18lb. She claimed to be 5′7″, which is my height and her high weight was less than my normal low weight. It seemed she was an example of the eating disorder that is prevalent in the ballet community. I kinda thought maybe it wasn’t wise for “kimmer” to post her story as it may promote anorexia…. little did I know then.
I never really tried KimKins, but I did listen to the advice of not eating if not hungry and no such thing as starvation mode. It validated the poor habits I had developed over the years and was trying to overcome until I read her postings.
While I know better than to trust and not verify it was very appealing and was what I wanted to hear. So even though the actual diet didn’t do me harm, some of her advice affected my thinking and I continued in bad habits which have affected my overall health.
I was banned when I started asking about maintenance on the forums after she was publicly exposed as a fraud.
This woman is a parasite and needs to be stopped to many have been harmed by her.

Cantstandliars

I joined kimkins around December of last year. I got so sick from my first attempt that I quit after only a few days. I can’t blame that on kimkins as I’m sure it was sugar withdrawal (can happen on atkins too). BUT, I started the plan and stuck with it in March. I stayed on the plan for 2 months. After a few weeks, my emotions went flat. I didn’t feel happy, sad, anything. It was really bad. I stopped the plan as I felt I was choosing between being fat or being clinically depressed. After about 2 weeks, my hair began falling out by the hands full. My hair is thin to start with so you can imagine my panic. It didn’t stop falling out for a solid month. Fortunately, I still had hair left when it was all over with. I did have a net loss of around 10 pounds. The 18 I gained back promptly (without eating too many calories for my body) was enough to let me know that kimkins is a farse. (as if the hair loss and depression weren’t enough). Shame on you Heidi Diaz! You stuffed your pockets with the hopes of people desperate to lose weight. You suckered those who placed their trust in you. You lied to people to hide the truth about who you really are and what you are really made of. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.

Rteh

I joined kimkins after the womans world article and swiftly lost 40 pounds in 3 months. During this time I came to the realisation that I might be losing weight but I wasn’t living. I was dizzy and my life became sedentary due to the lack of food. My hair also started to fall out. That is when I started to cheat just to feel better for a day. If I had something planned that week I would plan a cheat to be able to cope with the activity. Yes I was eating sometimes as low as 300 cals, not every day but at times, and I was enjoying it. It was addictive. Slowly I started to realise this is not good and when christins pod cast message aired I said my farewells and left.

I would just like to say this as I am now in a place where I can speak my mind without fear of getting banned.

WE WERE THE KIMMER EXPERIMENT!!!!!!

THE SUCCESS STORIES WERE FAKE SO NO-ONE HAD BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE US!!! INCLUDING KIMMER HERSELF!

Would you purchase an experimental drug and take it knowing that the doctor was a liar and complete fraud. Knowing that side effects are starting to emerge. Knowing that yes it works but at what cost. Would you take it knowing that there is possible heart valve complications that you could lose your hair and cause irrepairable damage to your kidneys. No! So why are we doing a diet that fits the above criteria.

Taressia

I am a member at the Kimkins site and have been very grieved about the number of women there who have and are still suffering serious medical problems due to these very diets.

When you first look at the plans…they seem strict but not “too” bad. But inevitably, after an initial “whoosh” there’s a slowdown in weight loss. This is when another whole level of the “diet” is pulled out by the members and the leaders…the unpublished plan.

People go from “strict” to “even stricter” when they are highly encouraged to go as low in calories as possible…many of the “big” losers hang out around 300-500 calories daily.

Also, because the plans don’t have much in the way of fiber to “push things through”…it’s encouraged to take laxatives daily. The owner of the site, Kimmer, even goes as far as to say that people shouldn’t be afraid to do this since recent studies show that they’re perfectly safe and not addictive after all. (omg)

People don’t eat much, take laxatives…it’s a breeding ground for eating disorders to be triggered and/or developed. And even though people are complaining of nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations and bowel complications–they are just told to “stick it out…it’ll pass…stay tough.”

Every day, I see friends of mine there…making poor choices and the leadership not only fails to step in and encourage healthier courses of action…they add to the climate of poor health by continuing to encourage the lower calories and laxative abuse.

I hope as people who have left do share their stories here…that those still there will somehow come to their senses and see things for what they really are.

MrsM

I first heard of Kimkins in late June, 2007. I read of Kimmer’s amazing weight loss and maintenance. Her story and pictures, and the other success stories, were so inspiring that I paid for my membership and jumped right in.
At first it was confusing. The information given wasn’t clear as to quantities and limits but I read other’s questions and the answers given by Kimmer and the moderators and followed their instructions. I had never done low carb before but I was excited to start.

At first I wasn’t as low as I was supposed to be but I was still losing quickly and I was hooked. Eventually, I got my carbs and fats to the amounts stated and went on to lose 50 pounds. The weight loss made it easy to ignore the dizziness, nausea, and exhaustion. I brushed off the concerns of friends and family about the amount of food I was eating and for my health. I had read many accounts of other members experiencing the same side effects that I was having and the responses explaining them away as normal, signs they were doing the diet correctly. I read many Fitday accounts and felt guilty that my calories and fats weren’t as low as many that were praised for how they were doing the diet. I strived to get them there. I used Fitday to keep track of everything I ate. Every thing. I was spending most of my time on the site in the threads that posted progress reports and pictures. Seeing the difference in the appearance of other members was enough to keep me from letting the side effects I was experiencing worry me. I realize now how obsessed I’d become with seeing the numbers go down on the scale.

I think the first thing that had me questioning the validity of the diet and it’s founder were the bannings. I witnessed a teenage member being encouraged to lower her already very low calories. When she spoke up for herself there were members who attacked her for it. They were allowed to say the things they did without being reprimanded or banned, but the teen was banned. This made me begin to realize that the bannings were happening to protect Kimkins/ Kimmer/ Heidi Diaz and not for the stated protection of the members. More and more bannings were happening. It appeared that anyone who dared to speak out, question, or voice their concerns were losing their so called lifetime memberships stating TOS as the reason for the ban. Yet, those that supported Kimkins were being allowed to reply in obvious violation of TOS without repercussion. Around this time I discovered that Kimmer/Heidi’s explanation for Becky’s absence was a lie and it confirmed that much was being hidden, lied about, and protected and I no longer felt confident in the program’s founder, or those running the site.

In addition to the other side effects I was experiencing I had started losing my hair. I went searching the site to see if any others were experiencing hair loss and discovered people being banned for asking the same questions I myself had. They and their posts would quickly disappear. I would read them and then, poof, they were gone.

It was in a thread concerning the deletion of someone’s journal that I decided it was a good place to ask how I could post within TOS so I could state my concerns, ask questions about what I was experiencing and share information I had learned without risking the membership I had paid for. I made just a few posts and though I made no TOS violation, my membership was quickly rescinded without notice, warning, or reimbursement of my nearly $60 “lifetime” membership fee. It was later discovered through posted correspondence between Singinglass and Kimmer (Heidi Diaz) that I was banned because I had chosen a duck avatar from those that Kimkins supplied and Heidi didn’t trust anyone with a duck avatar.
It was very difficult to stop the diet because my view of food had changed dramatically. I had to force myself to increase my calories. I had an even harder time increasing my fat intake and though it took me a while, I did it. I made an appointment with my doctor and honestly told her what I had been eating. She was horrified and very concerned for my health. It’s been several months and I’m still going through testing from both my regular doctor and the Endocrinologist she has sent me to. I’m still experiencing dramatic hair loss.

Reading through sites and blogs on the internet I learned that I, like many others, had fallen for a scam. I discovered that those Heidi Diaz and her staff labeled as “haters” were actually people who were sincerely concerned for members of Kimkins. It was proven that the pictures of both Kimmer/Heidi Diaz and her fabricated success stories, were all stolen from online Russian bride sites. Heidi Diaz had NOT lost the weight she claimed and was actually morbidly obese. While she was doling out her guidance and advice, while she was talking about how “she” did the diet and about “her” success and maintenance, she was lying to me and every other member of Kimkins. She had no training in nutrition. She didn’t even have any personal experience to back her claims. Her account of the photo shoot for her (fake/stolen) red dress after picture where she had to twist and turn, so many of the success stories of members praising Kimmer for her diet and the weight loss they achieved were merely stolen pictures with fake stories that Kimmer/Heidi Diaz wrote herself.

My hope is that anyone considering following the Kimkins diet will reconsider trusting their health and money to Heidi Diaz. We all want to lose the weight we need to lose but not at the risk of our health and certainly not for the profit of someone who needs to rely on fabricated successes or elaborate lies in order to gain financially from our desire to get healthy. Please take advantage of all the free information available on the web and choose a safe weight loss program. If you were unfortunate enough to have joined Kimkins please consider joining the class action lawsuit. Losing weight should be a journey towards health, not the road to it’s decline.

Stay healthy. Stay safe.

Hello… Survivors?

You have suffered due to a VLCD.

You have blacked out, lost your way, lost your health.

Now is the time to help others to be free. You have that power. It is in your hands.

If you have documented proof of medical care due to Kimkins-related diet side effects, and can spend just a small amount of time talking with an interviewer,

wouldn’t it be worth the being shy… or having left that period of time behind you?

Now is not the time to step back. Now is the time to put your foot forward, if only for a few minutes.

You could be saving your daughter, your mother, your friend from being a victim of a very low calorie diet.

Please.

For them.

If you have suffered any of the following doctor verified medical conditions:

• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Muscle fatigue or weakness
• Heartbeat palpitations
• Moderate to severe hair loss
• Bone and joint pain
• Mental changes – irritability, forgetfulness, confusion
• Bowel complications/symptoms of laxative abuse

as a result of your experience with the Kimkins Diet, and would like this exciting opportunity to share your experiences with the public, please contact KimkinsonABC@gmail.com within the next 48 hours.

No travel will be required, an ABC crew will come to you to discuss your experience.

If you know of anyone who fits the above-mentioned medical criteria, please share this contact information with them for this important opportunity.

Now is the time, sisters.

Now is the time.