John Tiedt called with some fabulous news! Once again, Heidi Diaz has lost in court --- not just lost, but lost RESOUNDINGLY! The court not only emphatically dismissed her motion for bankruptcy, but also, acting on its own accord, the court forbade her from filing for bankruptcy again for 180 days.
That's a little like being paddled in public by the judge.
This seems to be the pattern with her legal troubles lately, doesn't it? One wonders if she is getting nervous about the way these rulings have gone against her time and time and time again. Frankly, things don't look likely to turn around for her any time soon, either, so she might as well get used to losing --- her legal battles, anyway. Ah, well, she can't say she was not warned.
In the eyes of many, Diaz' bankruptcy proceedings were the latest in a series of ploys to forestall the civil case against her. After all, she filed it mere days before the hearing to grant class action status to the suit against her. Think about it: she hid and then denied her identity; she tried to evade service of subpoena; she filed demurrers to get the case against her dismissed as being without merit (though the court obviously disagreed!); she resisted and failed to fully cooperate with the process of legal discovery; and then, her coup de gras, she filed a countersuit/SLAPP suit (malicious prosecution) to silence and punish her special foes (a group of which I am apparently a member). Each effort bought her time to work her shenanigans by diverting John Tiedt's time and effort from the primary case against her to deal with these distractions. The SLAPP suit bought her time for the bankruptcy filing, and the bankruptcy bought her time against class action.
Both of her latest tactics had the potential added benefit, had the court not quickly seen through her scams, of allowing her to line her pockets with the hard-earned money of others. From all accounts, considering her decades-long history as a con artist, her prior felony conviction, her documented instances of tax fraud (at federal, state and local levels) her admitted Social Security fraud, her several previous bankruptcies, etc., etc., etc., trying to get over on other people's money is her long-standing pattern. It's 'how she rolls'.
Both delays also had the effect of buying time for her to try to keep the Kimkins machinery cranking out money while she and her sons tried to start up other diets sites, like her ill-conceived Miracle Lemonade crashdiet/detox/fasting site or her knock-off Simple Choices diet site.
One thing is obvious ---- for someone supposedly on the brink of bankruptcy, Ms. Diaz has managed to continue spending some significant money on massive advertising! She must have resources she failed to mention in her motion for bankruptcy. In fact, in spite of all her disingenuous claims to have "corrected" her evil ways, Ms. Diaz continues to lie, even to the extent of perjuring herself in her legal filings in federal court.
Perhaps that is why Ms. Diaz and her lawyer did not fight the bankruptcy proceedings any harder than she did. After all, every time she had to make a statement under oath or produce more documentation of her financial history, she dug herself in deeper and deeper. A civil proceeding is one thing, but crimes against the government (via tax fraud and Social Security fraud, at the least) are quite different matters altogether.
High praises go to Scott Clarkson and his team, whom John Tiedt brought in to refute Diaz' bankruptcy claims. Clarkson is one of the very top-tier bankruptcy attorneys in practice, whose knowledge and expertise were invaluable in defeating Diaz' phony bankruptcy case. Scott Clarkson is a legal genius who completely outclassed the opposition. Way to go!
John Tiedt and team also benefitted from inspired and untiring aid by some behind-the-scenes legal sleuths who are amazingly gifted at ferreting out the truth behind Ms. Diaz' lies. (You know who you are. Thanks for what you do!)
John Tiedt has worked tirelessly and in a principled manner to bring this case to the best possible conclusion. He has been busy already with all the hearings, depositions, and document production these proceedings have required. Now he will be even more busy for a time, pressing his current legal advantage to move the civil suit rapidly forward now that the bankruptcy is out of the way. One expects he will press hard for immediate class action certification, quick judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, and expeditious disposition of the defendants' assets. Go, John! You rock! Have a great time celebrating this victory!
The civil matter should be resolved soon. We may shortly see criminal charges follow.
It's a bad day for Heidi Diaz, but a very good day for justice!
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3 comments:
Wasn't the class already certified on Jan 14? That's how many of us understood it. Just checking!
Great blog post.
OYB
What John told me was that the initial certification was not actually valid because Diaz' bankruptcy filing had been duly entered into the court system at that time, whether that particular judge had seen it or acknowledged it at that time.
At least that was my understanding.
Perhaps it is a technicality, but cases often rise and fall on technicalities.
Of course, the judge's quick ruling that first time clearly shows the intent and willingness of the court to grant class status --- obviously, the judge disagrees with Diaz' assertion that there is nothing to the case against her!
Now that all her attempts to block this thing have been set aside, we should have at least a six-month window to move forward unhindered. It should be a quick formality to have our case properly certified for class status now.
I believe the courts have had enough of Heid Diaz; this might wrap up fairly quickly, one hopes.
Very curious as it has been over a year whether there is any news about the case against Heidi? Have not seen any and still following all this craziness.
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