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discuss Defend HeidiPowell.com against a Bullying Celebrity Thief!

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Hi domainers,

Please take a moment to help defend domain owner rights. The grandmother who owns HeidiPowell.com needs our help. You don't need to spend a penny. Just stand up and say, "This is unacceptable." It will take public pressure outside NamePros. But there are a lot of us; so hopefully we can join forces and spread the word.

Scroll down. There are a few specific things we can do to help. It's urgent.

Some of you know the story already. A grandmother has owned HeidiPowell.com for many years, but a minor TV celebrity has decided that she is the only Heidi Powell in the world who matters. And this arrogant celeb has dragged the original Mrs. Powell through a UDRP and even into bankruptcy court, attempting to take not just her domain but her own NAME from her by force. Truly, it's one of the most reprehensible cases I've ever come across. If we don't defend her, nobody will defend us when we ourselves are targeted.

Background:

Mrs. Powell has been Heidi Powell since her marriage in 1979. Back in 2005, 12 years ago, her husband presented her with the domain HeidiPowell.com as an anniversary gift. It's a developed website where she offers web design services. But it's more than just a site whose name can be changed. To this day, Heidi uses HeidiPowell.com for her email address, which is tied to all her online accounts. So if she loses this domain, it's akin to identity theft.

Then along comes another Heidi Powell – a celebrity fitness trainer who had a short-lived TV show on ABC. ("Celebrity", so they say. I'd never heard of her.) She became Heidi Powell after a 2010 marriage – long after HeidiPowell.com was registered by the rightful owners, Mr. and Mrs. Powell.

Greed and megalomania – it's the usual tale of a spoiled narcissistic brat who feels entitled to confiscate whatever she wants, no matter the damage to us "little people". First came the UDRP. Fortunately, David Weslow – a well respected attorney – stepped forward to defend Heidi pro bono (i.e. free of charge). I think there's a very good chance justice will prevail in the UDRP case, thanks to his efforts.

But Mrs. Powell and her husband are still suffering, and her domain remains in jeopardy. You see, this fitness trainer "star", this usurper, this would-be thief and her lawyers have found another way to attack the rightful Heidi Powell – even while the UDRP case is still in progress. Years ago, Mrs. Powell and her husband experienced some misfortunes and had to file for bankruptcy. Life can be like that. Now, this covetous celeb is arguing that the domain HeidiPowell.com ought to have been declared as a valuable asset during their bankruptcy case years ago. It's absurd, of course. The market value of HeidiPowell.com is negligible except for 1 greedy celebrity who came along later on. I personally prepared a 5-10 page document for David Weslow, citing verifiable data that proves this.

However, the celeb and her lawyers are bribing the trustee with a 5-figure sum to drag Mr. and Mrs. Powell back into bankruptcy court! And legal representation in this bankruptcy case is not provided by David Weslow; he's only handling the UDRP. Far from being free, this additional legal burden will cost Mr. and Mrs. Powell thousands – not to mention stress, time, and damage to their credit and reputation. Obviously, the celeb's strategy is to bleed this humble couple until they give up from exhaustion.

Press Coverage:

From time to time, we hear about domainers requesting financial help. Personally, I'm always very skeptical about those claims because it's easy to exploit people's sympathies. Heidi Powell is not a domainer. What she primarily needs our help with is public pressure. Giving that kind of help is 100% free.

Heidi's case has been written about extensively:

(1) USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...andmother-heidi-powell-over-website/90916602/

(2) The Register

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/09/27/narcissist_heidi_powell_wants_her_dotcom/

(3) DomainNameWire.com

http://domainnamewire.com/2016/09/13/reverse-domain-name-hijacking-alleged-heidipowell-com-lawsuit/

and

http://domainnamewire.com/2016/07/19/heidi-powell-lawsuit/

(4) At NamesCon, David Weslow of Wiley Rein was given the first ever "Lonnie Borck Memorial Award" in recognition of his "exceptional efforts in championing the rights of domain name registrants". Those of us who are members of the ICA – the Internet Commerce Association, which advocates tirelessly for domain owner rights – voted for Mr. Weslow specifically because of this Heidi Powell case.

http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2016/dailyposts/20161219.htm

I was hoping that Heidi's case would get some publicity at NamesCon when David Weslow received the award. However, I understand he wasn't able to attend due to illness.

TAKE ACTION!

Alright, guys. This is where we can make a difference. Get angry! Imagine it's your grandma being dragged into bankruptcy court! Imagine it's your domain being taken away unjustly! Imagine it's costing you thousands and thousands to defend yourself against an arrogant narcissist with deep pockets!

What we can do:

(1) Visit HeidiPowell.com. There's a button on grandma's site, allowing you to tweet directly at this thieving celebrity. Tell her what you think of her. Please no threats. Please no profanity. Remember, we want domain owner rights to be respected and honored. Making threats or using profanity would only give people an excuse to dismiss us. Be professional. But be angry!

(2) Visit the celeb's website:

http://heidipowell.net/contact-me/

Tell her what you think. Again, be polite but firm.

(3) Grandma has a GoFundMe campaign:

https://www.gofundme.com/grandma-bullied-sued-for-her-name

Please leave a comment showing your support. I'm not asking anybody to contribute money. But if you can spare something small – even $1 – it might help show that Mrs. Powell is not alone ... that even total strangers are willing to back an underdog against a bully. If you don't want to donate, that's completely fine. Just leave a comment there. This thieving celeb needs to understand that her reputation is going to suffer if she persists in persecuting Mrs. Powell ... that she will be punching a cactus.

(4) Let's put pressure on ABC, since they created this monster. Maybe if they encounter some bad publicity themselves, they will in turn put pressure on the celebrity usurper to cease and desist:

https://twitter.com/ABCNetwork

Tell ABC what you think. Tell them they ought to be ashamed of themselves for letting Heidi Powell bully a grandmother and steal her property. Be sure to reference Heidi Powell specifically; otherwise ABC won't have a clue what we're talking about.

(5) We all have domainer acquaintances. Please send 3 people a link to this NamePros thread. There's strength in numbers.

(6) Once you've helped out, brag about it! Let other domainers here know that you give a damn. Post a reply in this thread so we can keep it visible. Positive peer pressure, folks! Let's show the world that domainers aren't parasitic cybersquatters. We stand up for property rights.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
It's your responsibility and not a valuation expert to list all of your assets on the correct schedule.

I believe the work that JP did was after the fact, after the case was re-opened in defense of Heidi Powell to explain the domain had no real value. Had Granny already received an offer for $10,000 and turned that down; I would think it be very much of interest to a Trustee that this was not listed.

I think your and everyone's opinion would change if the name was HxP.com, as an example for Heidi X Powell. Then it should have been listed, right? That's clearly worth $10,000 (how can we determine that? using comps and hard numbers :)). The important part is that Creditors are entitled to recoup as much of the debt as they legally can and debtors are allowed to relieve themselves of the burden of the remaining debt (assuming that everything was done above board).

I would argue that this is a case of a Trustee determining whether an asset should have been listed and whether the creditor is entitled to the market value. I believe that this yielded $2,500 to the creditor. It's certainly not a case of stealing.

How this whole motion started with the re-opening could easily be regarded as underhanded and I on that I would probably agree.
So now Kobe beef is an asset? And leased Kobe beef at that. If you don't pay your dues, the domain is gone. This isn't a case of you bought it and it's yours forever, free and clear.

And it doesn't matter if it's a 10 random letter or 1 letter .com. There just isn't a way to value any single, leased, domain. I wouldn't expect a trustee to get involved in valuing domains. That's like me putting a space suit on and boarding a shuttle...clueless!
 
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And it doesn't matter if it's a 10 random letter or 1 letter .com. There just isn't a way to value any single, leased, domain. I wouldn't expect a trustee to get involved in valuing domains. That's like me putting a space suit on and boarding a shuttle...clueless!

So I've got a new business plan... do you think this would work?
  1. Take out a huge loan for business
  2. Buy a super-premium domain name - maybe an NN.com
  3. Run out of money and file for bankruptcy but not list the domain as an asset
  4. Close Bankruptcy
  5. Sell name and drink some champagne
 
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So I've got a new business plan... do you think this would work?
  1. Take out a huge loan for business
  2. Buy a super-premium domain name - maybe an NN.com
  3. Run out of money and file for bankruptcy but not list the domain as an asset
  4. Close Bankruptcy
  5. Sell name and drink some champagne
Now you've went from heidipowell, a light hearted domain, to a business. You're really stretching. The 2 scenarios aren't even close. This case doesn't involve a biz or an attempt at one.
 
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Well, you'll get a range of opinions on that from all sorts of folks in all sorts of situations. Many domain registrants consider themselves to be the "owner" of the domain name who can "sell" the domain name, instead of a "lessee" of the domain name who can charge a premium for re-assigning the lease. If you want to characterize it as a lease, then it begs the question of whom you believe the "owner/lessor" to be?

But, Joseph, if these things are going to be decided on maternal expressions of outrage, then have a look at this one, and let me know if you think David Weslow's clients in the Associated Recovery case are thieves because they bought names from a court-appointed trustee, as claimed by the plaintiff in that case
Can't thank you enough for participating in this discussion.
 
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Analyzing funds spent on entertainment while in bankruptcy i would liken to funds spent on junk food by an overweight debtor.. Chapter 7 bankruptcy carries credit reprecussions that the debtor must endure. They dont walk away unscathed.
Most filings are less than accurate by error and by omission. Again, not the central issue.
 
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Shared on Twitter and hope to do much more than tweet
 
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I'm not a lawyer; I'm an engineer.

Well, I spent more time studying engineering than law, if that helps. Engineers tend to do pretty well in law, since the general problem - applying general rules to systems with specific conditions in order to obtain a desired outcome - is very similar. Writing legal documents is a LOT like writing code or designing a structure.

Legal decisions and arguments are a lot like applying Maxwell's equations, the Navier-Stokes equation, or thermodynamic principles to the system at hand. You figure out what set of principles apply to the relevant behavior of the system, discuss why, and show your work at each step. The main categorical difference is that with law the application frequently involves inferences of psychological motivation based on observations of behavior (and sometimes rules for making those inferences).
 
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So does anyone have an update on this situation, like has the fitness lady dropped the case, did one of them win, are we waiting for the case, anyone got any news?

Does the fitness heidipowell actually know that shes getting called a bully etc.
 
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Now you've went from heidipowell, a light hearted domain, to a business. You're really stretching. The 2 scenarios aren't even close. This case doesn't involve a biz or an attempt at one.

That's right. I forgot the legal "granny" exemption that is in play here. O_o
 
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I wonder how Grampa Willie Nels*n managed his BK?
 
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Celebs could probably sell all kinds of stuff. Like autographed items.
 
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That's right. I forgot the legal "granny" exemption that is in play here. O_o
She's not running a business on it so it's only sensible that she wouldn't list it as an asset. There's no special treatment it's just common sense. I doubt she listed the 3 pack of Hanes underwear in her drawer either.

She has the twitter handle too which is great!
 
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I doubt she listed the 3 pack of Hanes underwear in her drawer either.

Dude! Did you have to create that visual? :)
 
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Well, I spent more time studying engineering than law, if that helps. Engineers tend to do pretty well in law, since the general problem - applying general rules to systems with specific conditions in order to obtain a desired outcome - is very similar. Writing legal documents is a LOT like writing code or designing a structure.

Legal decisions and arguments are a lot like applying Maxwell's equations, the Navier-Stokes equation, or thermodynamic principles to the system at hand. You figure out what set of principles apply to the relevant behavior of the system, discuss why, and show your work at each step. The main categorical difference is that with law the application frequently involves inferences of psychological motivation based on observations of behavior (and sometimes rules for making those inferences).

I would object here. You cant compare it to Navier-Stokes equations at least not for 3D since there is still not proven that solutions in 3D exist or that they are smooth. But perhaps youve had in mind Navier-Stokes equations in 2D and that would be fine.
 
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tweeted it out. thanks for the heads up.
 
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"She's not running a business on it so it's only sensible that she wouldn't list it as an asset. There's no special treatment it's just common sense."
Keith makes a good point. Assuming bankruptcy is to liquidate "liquid" assets. The only value AT THAT TIME that could be assumed was sentimental plus the illiquidity of most domains like that even if it was ruled "omitted" it would be moot.

I get queries for one of my kids names over the years from artists. There is no way the time between reg. date and acquiring "prominence" by marriage or otherwise could be ignored. Heidi's attorney should be sanctioned for "should have known" or at least used in favor of one of the most egregious RDNH attempt s and claim damages.

On the light side in today's review of the NamesCon auction, apparently domain investors see more value in fortunetellers !:)

litigator.com Type: Public Auction Bids: 10 Min. Bid:$300 High Bid:$3100 R Time Left:2d 22h

fortuneteller.com Type: Public Auction Bids: 14 Min. Bid:$300 High Bid:$5800 R Time Left:2d 22h
Cheers
 
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I was electrical, so I always throw that in for the mechanical folks.

Yeah, and the most fun is with the Maxwell field equations if you put 2 extra dimensions in special relativity Lorentz equations. They fall out like candies. I would consider law some sort of vector space with elements of architecture.
 
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HeidiChris.com - available handreg
ChrisHeidi.com - available handreg
:)
 
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If the actual owner lose the domain name is a Shame for this business. Maximum support to the actual owner of this domain name. How can she own it in bad faith as it is her personal name and surname ?
 
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There is nothing wrong with a .net website. Putting the grandmother through this damages your image more than whatever benefit you would gain from having a .com site. If the fitness guru absolutely needs a .com for her site, she could start branding herself as HeidiPow.com, which is available. Leave grandma alone.
 
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Move the site away from USA control see what happens then,
I am sure Heidi blah dot sux is available
 
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Please take a moment to help defend domain owner rights. The grandmother who owns HeidiPowell.com needs our help.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

I suggest when we tweet, we all change the tweet content or companies like ABC will simply set own filters to ignore the same mssg. (i.e. the one from heidipowell. com site)

I think tweeting to the ABC, the source of her TV pseudo fame and source of her ego is the way to go and the best impact we can have. i.e. ABC sees that in the public space she is disliked her for her actions, and tells her to stop before they will run new series. = Great outcome!!

For example I tweeted -
@ABCNetwork Search news online. See what your @RealHeidiPowell is doing to steal HeidiPowell.com from grandma @HeidiPowell Shame!!
 
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