Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California

Thursday, May 4, 2023

US Retailers Attack Successful SHEIN with Paid Smear Campaign, by Mary Cummins

SHEIN, shein.com, shuttown shein, chapin fay, actum, china, retail, clothing, jewelry, accessories, chris xy, yangtian xy, nanjing, temu, wish, aliexpress, amazon, ebay, fashion nova, forever21, Zara, H&M, Asos, cheap, prices, mary cummins, los angeles, california 希音

SHEIN is a very successful Chinese e-commerce company selling clothing, jewelry, accessories and home decor items online direct to International and American consumers. Recently they and their customers have been attacked by a paid professional organization called "Shut down Shein." The organization is funded by US competitors of SHEIN and run by registered lobbyist Chapin Fay of Actum. Actum is a US paid public relations "lobbyist" business. The campaign Twitter account only has 28 followers! :-D

SHEIN 希音 was founded by Chris Xu aka Yangtian Xu in 2008 in Nanjing, China. The company is privately owned with headquarters in Singapore and warehouses, distribution centers all around the world and US. SHEIN through its vendors sells items at almost wholesale Chinese prices direct to the consumer. They are like wholesale Amazon, eBay, Temu, Wish, AliExpress for trendy clothing, jewelry and accessories. For this reason their almost identical items are much, much cheaper than comparative items sold by their US competitors.

What would cost $9 to $69 at H&M, Zara, ASOS, FashionNova, Forever 21...costs $1 to $9 at SHEIN. SHEIN also has an insane variety of products adding thousands of new items per day. SHEIN does not operate expensive International and US retail brick and mortar stores except for some temporary popup stores. This reduces costs which is how they are able to sell items at lower price points.

Instead of changing their business model to better compete with SHEIN the US competitors have embarked on a smear campaign of attacks, lies and pleas to the media, public and US politicians to shut down SHEIN by any means. "Shut down Shein" and their supporters attack anyone who supports SHEIN online including commenters and shoppers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. They call them "anti-American," "racists," supporters of "slavery" and even "communists." They're attacking teenage girls whose only sin was to comment "cute!" on a tshirt posted by SHEIN. They're also spreading anti-Chinese racism and hate during Asian heritage month.

The lies don't stop there. They state that SHEIN makes "throw away" clothes which are destroying the environment. SHEIN is making similar clothes to the ones their US competitors are selling. They're made in the same place in the same way with the same materials for the same wholesale price sometimes even in the same factory. Nike, Adidas, Levis, L.L. Bean, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch and the more expensive brands like Armani, Burberry, Prada, D&G, Marc Jacobs are also made in China. Even luxury jewelry brands are made in China such as Maria Tash and many more.

They even state that SHEIN steals copyrighted designs. Most clothing, jewelry and accessories are made with inspiration from other items. The large US companies do the exact same thing which is why they're complaining because it's competition. There have been copyright claims on some designs in the past. When you consider the sheer number of vendors and items, one could see how that could happen. SHEIN has a copyright policy. They will remove any copyrighted item posted by any of their vendors. Perhaps large companies such as SHEIN can institute an auto Google image search of all new items to prevent this possibility especially since they're adding thousands of new products daily.

There was a claim that some products used cotton sourced from forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang, China violating the Federal Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Cotton from Xinjiang is widely used in the global garment industry. As of last fall, 16 percent of cotton clothes on store shelves in the US contained this cotton. It's a difficult issue because the cotton ends up being mixed with other cotton, sold as thread, yarn and manufactured into fabric or products in places other than China. Adidas, Hugo Boss, Puma all were found to have this cotton in their products even though they had no links with Xinjiang. Xinjiang cotton is shipped to India, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries who then make products. H&M, Nike, L.L. Bean, Patagonia, Victoria Secrets, Reformtion, L Brand and many more US companies used this cotton. There's no way to know if products have this cotton without DNA testing it. SHEIN states they no longer use this cotton. So do the US companies. If you were to DNA them all, they all may have some of this cotton. SHEIN has a supply chain statement. They also have statements about supporting entrepreneurs, the community and environment. More info about the company here.

Some people are buying items in SHEIN just so they can leave false negative reviews about other issues. Here's one for a plastic hair clip. It's not cotton. "SHEIN USES UYGHURS. SHEIN USES UYGHURS. SHEIN USES UYGHURS." It's in English and Arabic and recent.

In the past these same large US companies ran smaller US stores out of business by selling cheaper items made in China. These same companies used similar business practices as SHEIN which indirectly killed the smaller US companies. Now that SHEIN has taken it a step further by selling items at almost wholesale prices the US companies are screaming foul. There is nothing stopping the US competitors from dropping their prices to match SHEIN's except profits.

SHEIN is successful because SHEIN has similar items for a lot less money than US retailers. They are able to do this by making money off volume and having a cost effective supply chain, efficient logistics, modern technology and data-driven insights. Their website is easy to navigate and they have detailed dimensions, materials, sizes and customer reviews listed for the products which their competitors don't have. Their customer service and shipping is much better and faster and they're all the way in China. Items generally arrive in nine days or less from order to delivery in the US which is faster than US companies. They also offers shopper incentives for placing orders, receiving orders and leaving reviews besides offering lots of coupons and special pricing.

There are companies which sell similar items in many different stores for similar prices in China, i.e. Temu, Wish, Alibaba and AliExpress. SHEIN is more successful than those companies in the US because customer services is ten times better, products are superior and items ship faster and more reliably. SHEIN ships all items combined from their own warehouse. The other companies ship items individually though more recently they're doing some group shipping through central shipping centers.

The other Chinese businesses operate in a similar manner as SHEIN and have existed for years. The US competitors don't care about them because they aren't as successful. Amazon, eBay, Walmart and other websites selling items from China legally operate in the same manner under the tariff free $800 de minimus threshold for imports from China. Again the US companies don't care as much because they aren't as successful when it comes to trendy, fashionable clothing, jewelry and accessories. They're only calling out SHEIN. They know they can't shut down Amazon, eBay or Walmart which operate under the same de minimis threshold. If they can't shut down Amazon, eBay or Walmart, they won't be able to shut down SHEIN for those same reasons.

"Shut down Shein" claims that SHEIN is not paying tariffs and other taxes on the items sold. Amazon, eBay, Walmart, AliExpress...all operate legally in the same manner and have for years. The US companies could also operate in the same way if they wanted to do so. Instead they'd rather use mainstream media, social media and the US government to try to harm their competition.

Here are some things "Shut down Shein" states about SHEIN in their website that "proves" they should be shut down. It looks like a list of SHEIN's successes to me. If the US companies had accomplished these things, they'd be patting themselves on the back, giving their CEOs bonuses and bragging about it to the media.

"SHEIN is the No.1 downloaded app in both Android and iOS App Store’s Shopping category in the U.S. with 229 million downloads, beating out Amazon by almost 34 million downloads."

"SHEIN has an “unusual” marketing strategy that heavily targets teenaged and twenty-something American “influencers.” SHEIN targets all age groups. All the other companies use the same marketing strategy. If an 8-12 year old goes to Claires to buy cheap jewelry, they will be tracked by their profile, favorites, purchases, which items they linger on while scrolling... Shein only allows people 16 or older to use their website.

"SHEIN’s website ranks #1 in the world for web traffic in the fashion and apparel category, according to SimilarWeb, putting them ahead of household names Nike, Zara, Macys, Lululemon and Adidas."

"A recent survey of American upper income teens by investment bank Piper Sandler ranked SHEIN as 2nd after Amazon for most popular shopping website."

"The average duration of a site visit is estimated at 8 mins 36 seconds, higher than every major US fashion brand."

Chapin Fay who is behind "Shut down Shein" has used lies to try to garner immigrant votes for Republicans. One campaign was called "Stop the insanity" which Fay promoted on social media. It was a fear mongering campaign just like "shut down Shein." Thankfully political candidate Lee Zeldin lost the campaign. He also campaigned against AOC and again lost. Fay is hoping that current Chinese hate, racism, distrust and anti-TikTok will help his smear campaign.

Some of Fay's similar lines of rhetoric against SHEIN are “TIKTOK IS THE NEEDLE, SHEIN IS THE DRUG,” “TikTok and Shein, controlled by the [Chinese Communist Party], are trying to capture an entire generation of American youth. And in a way, they already have,” "Shein: The biggest national security threat you never heard of," Shein's “dangerous and reprehensible behavior.” All these statements are straight from their links below. Fay is actively spreading lies and anti-Chinese hate and racism. Fay is contacting all politicians who hate China asking for help. Truly a despicable campaign especially during Asian Pacific heritage month here in the US.

The PR website states their specialties are "communications, government relations, storytelling, narrative development, digital and social media, advocacy mobilization, special groups, political consulting, public opinion." If telling the world how much more successful their competitor is, is their idea of "narrative development," their client should get their money back. So far these petty attacks using an anonymous name appear as jealousy of their successful competition. The personal attacks on teenage girl SHEIN shoppers on Instagram are very low. I was even attacked by them.

This campaign is already a bust. Their Twitter account only has 28 followers! :-D It only follows US politicians. Their main campaign is to try to derail their IPO via a letter from US politicians. They want SHEIN to certify that they don't use forced labor. I believe they already did that in their website. This looks like illegal interference with business and commerce to me.

In response to the campaign, a spokesperson for Shein said: “Shein proudly provides customers with on-demand and affordable fashion, beauty and lifestyle products, lawfully and with full respect for the communities where we operate. We categorically deny these false and baseless claims, and will not hesitate to take swift action to protect the rights of our company.”

I sure hope SHEIN hires some lobbyists, PR people, media to help them deal with this nasty attack from "Shut down Shein." The people and companies behind this should be exposed as sleazy, liars, defamers, cheats and hypocrites. I highly doubt there is a human rights organization behind this campaign. They would have mentioned their name if they were supporting this cause.

Below is a quick example of the price differences. This earring is a gold plated hidden helix dangle. Maria Tash sells it for $490. It's made in China like the rest of Tash's expensive jewelry. Maria Tash says the design is "patented." It's not. Tash patented the back of a stud earring which no one else uses because it catches your hair. You can't copyright, patent a fashion design like this. People made and sold the earring before Tash but she lies about all of her jewelry. The exact same earring sells for $4 on SHEIN. The SHEIN version has a high quality Zircon instead of a diamond but it's still gold plate over sterling silver. The same earring on AliExpress is $3. The same earring on Etsy which was bought on AliExpress is $25-$100. Many other places sell it for $100-$200. There's a HUGE markup in jewelry and clothes. US companies are pissed that SHEIN has shown the world their huge profit margin. Below is SHEIN's earring. They show materials and dimensions which helps the consumer. Other places don't.

*I don't work for SHEIN. I just read some articles about "Shut down Shein" and saw people viciously attacking SHEIN's customers online and decided to investigate to try to understand why. The post I saw was about Frida Khalo merchandise. SHEIN licensed the name and likeness for a product line legally with the owner of the Frida Khalo trademark which is the Khalo family. I'm related to Diego Rivera which is why I saw the article. Shut down Shein attacked Shein for this even though Shein did everything legally and properly. I posted that the licensing deal was legal and was attacked so badly I had to remove my posts to get rid of their attacks against me. I have more research which I may add to this story at a later date.

@SHEIN_Official @SHEINUS_ @SHEIN_news

References

media@shutdownshein.com @shutdownshein

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lawmakers-call-sec-asses-shein-221757019.html

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/coalition-launches-to-shut-down-shein-protect-americans-from-foreign-influence-301779464.html

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/14/2023/following-tiktok-play-chinas-shein-enters-dcs-crosshairs

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/the-complicated-path-to-avoiding-cotton-from-xinjiang/48134540

https://sheingroup.com/

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin DISCLAIMER: https://mary--cummins.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer-privacy-policy-for-blogs-by.html

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins

mary cummins, los angeles, california, antelope valley california poppy reserve, california poppy, poppy reserve, lancaster, best photos, pics, 15101 lancaster, free

The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located at 15101 Lancaster Road, Lancaster, California GPS Latitude/Longitude: 34.72556546104782, -118.39665971500784 . This link takes you to the map . They have a poppy cam so you can see current conditions. Poppies generally bloom mid-February through May but it depends on rain, sun, wind and temperature. When it's cold, windy, raining the poppies close up. If it's very cold, they die. If it's very windy, raining, the petals fall off then you have to wait for new ones to appear which is pretty quickly. If clouds come in, temps will drop, wind will pick up. Try to get there when there are no clouds before 3:00 pm. If they last to May when it's warmer, you can get there later if there are no clouds. Here is the trail map

http://parks.ca.gov/pages/627/files/AVCPR%20Map%203-23%20Color%20QR%20update%20PDF.pdf

I took the photos below mainly outside of the reserve down the street in a field right off the road GPS 34.716140207421, -118.35129831176793 . I did not step on any flowers. There are little path ways. It's at a small intersection. They sell lemonade, honey, tshirt on the street there. Photos of satellite image of the site are down below. It's free to park on the side of the road here. You can see the poppy fields on the satellite images which I posted below.

mary cummins, los angeles, california, antelope valley california poppy reserve, california poppy, poppy reserve, lancaster, best photos, pics, 15101 lancaster, free

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Upside Foods bio meat, EPIC manufacturing plant and Uma Valeti. Is this a real business? Probably not

Uma Valeti, Upside Foods, Memphis Meats, cultivated cell meat, Califorornia, Emeryville, epic, lab, biomeat, biotech meat, scandal, scam, con, venture capital, Nicholas Genovese, fda, cultured meat, lab grown meat, cultivated meat,

UPDATE: 05/28/2023 Lab grown meat industry and not yet a possible commercial venture. It currently takes too many resources and energy to produce the meat. It will not be a commercial product until they find a way to make it more easily, cheaply and with less of an environmental footprint. In the meantime we should just be eating plants or already commercially available plant made "meats." Impossible Foods makes the best burgers, grounds and they have great chicken nuggets.

https://futurism.com/new-study-lab-grown-meat-worse-environment

04/28/23 Upside is now making ground chicken with plant base and a few lab meat cells thrown in. That sounds like Impossible chicken nuggets with a dash, a pinch of cells. If we're talking .0001% cells, that makes the product commercially viable now. As it's just plant based chicken nuggets, what is the point? The point of lab meat is an entire piece of meat indistinguishable for real meat, a chicken breast, a cut of steak. We already have great ground chicken substitutes. Who would pay $20,000 for ground lab meat? There's no market for that.

https://www.fooddive.com/news/upside-foods-cultivated-ground-chicken-pdgf-independent-cells/648266/

04/23/23 I haven't read this because of the pay wall. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-struggle-to-make-lab-grown-meat-12cf46ab

ORIGINAL: Dr Uma Valeti has been churning out press releases about his company Upside Foods for years now. The company will allegedly produce, already produces bio meat. Dr. Uma Valeti is a cardiologist in California. Upside Foods used to be Memphis Meats. Bio meat is meat cultured from animal cells that doesn't involve raising and killing animals.

Bio meat is a hot hot hot industry because it could cut down on greenhouse gases from animal farming, reduce water consumption and reduce the cruel treatment of farm animals. Many have tried to cultivate animal cells but so far the process is too costly. Upside claims to have found a way to produce bio meat affordably. For this reason many want to invest in the company so they can make millions of dollars. The company has raised over $500,000,000 based on the promise of being able to currently manufacture bio meat at a reasonable cost.

November 2022 the FDA sent Upside Foods a letter stating they reviewed their data and their bio chicken would be safe for consumption. https://www.virgin.com/about-virgin/virgin-group/news/upside-foods-receives-green-light-for-cultivated-meat-from-fda This of course is very different than having an actual product which can be commercially produced. This is not an approval of the final or any product.

The new manufacturing facility is called EPIC. It's located at 6201 SHELLMOUND ST, EMERYVILLE, CA 94608-2119. It's currently zoned for retail shopping center anchor store, storage or shipping facility. Approved uses are retail, food/beverage, office, gym, entertainment, life science i.e. lab space. It's not approved for manufacturing. Previously there was a sports gym and a market bar at this location. It's located near apartments and retail properties. There is no application for a zoning or planning variance to manufacture bio meat. May 2021 they stated the "facility will produce, package and ship cultured meat at a larger scale than any other company in the industry." The company claimed in late 2021 they currently can and are(?) producing 50,000 lbs of bio meat per year and are testing production runs.

December 2022 they applied for a "pilot production plant" permit which expires November 2023. This was after they stated they already built the manufacturing plant and were manufacturing bio meat. I'll call tomorrow and update the article. I checked with Alameda County, California Building and Safety using their address https://permit.acgov.org/ You would need a lot of permits and variances from many different agencies to be able to operate a meat for human consumption operation at this site.

I managed to find this from the city of Emeryville. It's for "research and development" only and not production or manufacturing. "Memphis Meats – 6201 Shellmound Street; tenant improvements for research and development. Building permit application for Memphis Meats biotechnology company submitted on July 29, 2020. Issued building permit to install structural mezzanine in Parcel C1 for mechanical equipment for Memphis Meats on September 23, 2020. On November 18, 2020 received building permit application for Memphis Meats tenant improvements." https://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5105

I also found this from November 2021, "Upside Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) – 6201 Shellmound Street; office, and research and development lab; valuation $30.5 million; building permit received final inspection on November 10 and certificate of occupancy was granted on November 23." "Upside Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) – 6005 Shellmound Street, Suite 175; interior tenant improvements; valuation $5.4 million; building permit application for expedited plan review submitted on November 5." Status was listed as zero completion. This is when they had their building ribbon cutting grand opening. Looks like it was the grand opening of the office.

Initially the cost of Upside's cellular meat was $18,000/lb then $9,000 and now it's allegedly $2,400/lb. Real animal meat sells for $2-$20/lb. Plant based meat sells for about the same. Upside is a long ways off. If you don't want to eat animal meat today, makes more sense to eat plant meat like Impossible or Beyond. Impossible meatballs, burgers taste fantastic and don't have unhealthy animal fat, cholesterol like real meat. 12 oz Impossible ground beef is $5. Gardein has wonderful affordable options as well. I've vegan and eat mainly unprocessed beats, nuts, seeds besides fruits, veggies, rice, grains. I have no investment in any food or other company.

A few of Upside's legal woes.

Many suspect the company is an investment scam. "Will Biotech Meat Become the Next Tech Scandal? Everything about the biotech meat industry is premature. The entire sector is essentially one massive PR campaign disguised as food tech pretending to save the world. When you’re spending more time chasing media than ensuring your company is financially successful, the house of cards will inevitable fall."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelesimon/2023/01/10/will-biotech-meat-become-the-next-tech-scandal/?sh=b753e142c96c

Another red flag is the company sued one of their founders Nicholas Genovese. Two other key employees resigned after Genovese was fired.

https://www.wired.com/story/upside-foods-blue-sky-trade-secrets-lawsuit/

https://thecounter.org/upside-foods-lab-grown-meat-cultured-uma-valeti-nicholas-genovese-firing/

More red flags is CEO, GMs who have never successfully run a real active business that makes products. Dr. Uma Valeti is just a cardiologist. He's never run any business before yet alone a multi million dollar business. They have no real product in the market even though they claim they made their first bio meat over a decade ago. All they do is churn out PRs and raise funds. Most board members are venture capitalists. This company reminds me of the scam bio fuels companies. They claim to take waste and turn it into bio fuel or as a replacement for plastic like Xyleco which I outed. Just fyi I predicted the failure of investment scams NPCT, UMCC, ASTN, EZR, TMOT, Theranos, Enron... I was sued twice for defamation for my 100% factual statements about the companies ASTN and their stock promoters NPCT. I represented myself pro se and won both cases.

About Upside Foods: "Upside Foods, based in Berkeley, Calif., was founded in 2015 by Uma Valeti, MD, the company’s CEO, and William Clem. Formerly known as Memphis Meats, the company – a pioneer in the lab-grown meat business -- underwent a name change in May 2021. On November 16, the Food and Drug Administration announced that lab-grown chicken developed by Upside Foods is safe for human consumption. The company anticipates being able to bring its products to market once its facilities have been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

"Among Upside Foods’ investors have been Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Softbank, Tyson Foods, Norwest Venture Partners, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson. The company has raised at least $520 million, the latest of which was a Series C round in April 2022. Its last known valuation was $1.3 billion and has not publicly communicated an intention to IPO."

Other investors Kimbal Musk, Cargill, Khalifa Al Suwaidi of Abu Dhabi Growth Fund,

SEC filings

Form D Exempt Offering of Securities

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1668780/000156761922009601/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Jackie Robinson Memorial, Mack Robinson brother, Pasadena, California, by Mary Cummins

Beautiful bronze statues of Jackie Robinson and his brother Matthew Mack Robinson who both grew up in Pasadena, California. They were both amazing athletes and people. Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Mack was an Olympic athlete who won a medal in track and field.

These ten foot tall sculptures are open to the public 24/7. They're amazing sculptures! So much artistic talent and detail by Ralph Helmick. 95 N Garfield Ave, Pasadena, CA across from City Hall. Mack is on the left and Jackie is on the right. These are some of the most beautiful bronze sculptures I've ever seen.

Huntington Museum, Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California by Mary Cummins

mary cummins, investigative reporter, real estate appraiser, animal advocates, los angeles, california, the huntington, museum, library, botanical gardens,

The Huntington is a Museum, Library and Botanical Garden in San Marino, California. It's so huge you should really visit it over a few days. Take advantage of the free museum days and you can see most museums in California. These are just some photos of the gardens taken March before the flowers started blooming.

mary cummins, investigative reporter, real estate appraiser, animal advocates, los angeles, california, the huntington, museum, library, botanical gardens,

Mary Cummins is an Investigative Reporter in Los Angeles, California. Cummins is also a real estate appraiser with Cummins Real Estate.

Friday, February 17, 2023

Miyoko's Creamery lawsuit, Miyoko Schinner by Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter

Miyoko's Creamery, Miyoko Schinner, Lisa Bloom, lawsuit, complaint, mary cummins, investigative reporter, trade secrets, vegan, cheese, woman, board

Miyoko's Creamery, Miyoko Schinner, Lisa Bloom, lawsuit, complaint, mary cummins, investigative reporter, trade secrets, vegan, cheese, vegan cheese, woman, board

Case is Miyoko's PBC v Miyoko Schinner, 4:23-cv-00711-DMR filed in California District Court North District. https://cand.uscourts.gov/
Judge is Donna M. Ryu https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/ryu-donna-m-dmr/ You can access case and case documents on your own via Pacer.gov but you have to register. I'm posting everything here including the documents.

UPDATE: 05/18/23 10:00 a.m. PST The case is settled. From Miyoko Schinner on LinkedIn.

"Miyoko's Creamery and Miyoko Schinner are pleased that they have resolved all legal disputes between them and that they have withdrawn all legal claims made against each other.

Miyoko’s Creamery acknowledges the tremendous creativity, hard work, and integrity of its founder, Miyoko Schinner, a true pioneer in vegan creamery products, and appreciates her many contributions to the company over the years.

Miyoko Schinner appreciates the dedicated team of people at Miyoko’s Creamery and their commitment to continuing her legacy through sustained and continued excellence in manufacturing, developing and selling vegan creamery products.

Miyoko and the company wish each other well as they go their separate ways."

0507/23 Status on docket

04/27/2023 20 ADR Clerks Notice re: Non-Compliance with Court Order. The parties have failed to file an ADR Certification as required by the Initial Case Management Scheduling Order. Counsel shall comply promptly with the requirements of ADR L.R. 3-5(b) and shall file the ADR Certification. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.)(cmf, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/27/2023) (Entered: 04/27/2023)

04/27/2023 21 ADR Certification (ADR L.R. 3-5 b) of discussion of ADR options Filed on behalf of Miyoko's, PBC (Rubin, Jennifer) (Filed on 4/27/2023) (Entered: 04/27/2023)

04/27/2023 22 ADR Certification (ADR L.R. 3-5 b) of discussion of ADR options (Goldstein, Alan) (Filed on 4/27/2023) (Entered: 04/27/2023)

05/05/2023 23 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER re 7 Initial Case Management Scheduling Order with ADR Deadlines filed by Miyoko's, PBC, Miyoko Schinner. (Rubin, Jennifer) (Filed on 5/5/2023) Modified on 5/8/2023 (cjl, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 05/05/2023)

05/05/2023 24 ORDER (AS MODIFIED) granting 23 Stipulation to Continue Initial Case Management Conference: Parties shall file a joint Case Management Conference Statement by 5/31/2023. Initial Case Management Conference set for 5/17/2023 01:30 PM is vacated and continued to 6/7/2023 01:30 PM in Oakland, - Videoconference Only. All counsel and parties may access the webinar information (public hearings) at https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/ryu-donna-m-dmr/. Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu on 5/5/2023. (ig, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/5/2023) (Entered: 05/05/2023)

April 27, 2023 Company wipes Miyoko Schinner off their website. She gets a tiny note in history that she started it with four people out of her home. The rest of the credit for everything else goes to the company.

http://www.miyokos.com

04/27/2023 21 ADR Certification (ADR L.R. 3-5 b) of discussion of ADR options Filed on behalf of Miyoko's, PBC (Rubin, Jennifer) (Filed on 4/27/2023) (Entered: 04/27/2023)

04/27/2023 22 ADR Certification (ADR L.R. 3-5 b) of discussion of ADR options (Goldstein, Alan) (Filed on 4/27/2023) (Entered: 04/27/2023)

April 26, 2023 Miyoko Schinner posted an Insta saying she was going to mediation with her lawyer. Hope they settle for everyone's sake. I dug up her cookbook and will have to make her butter from scratch if this keeps up. Hurry up and do right by Miyoko! I need butter! :-D

April 6, 2023 Plaintiff's file answer to Miyoko Schinner's countersuit.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18W1sj1WbvRUWEPBio6uhMOdhonmzOBxw/view?usp=sharing

March 16, 2023 Miyoko replied to the original complaint and filed a countersuit.

Docket entry

03/13/2023 15 CONSENT/DECLINATION to Proceed Before a US Magistrate Judge by Miyoko Schinner.. (Goldstein, Alan) (Filed on 3/13/2023) (Entered: 03/13/2023)

03/15/2023 16 CONSENT/DECLINATION to Proceed Before a US Magistrate Judge by Miyoko's, PBC.. (Rubin, Jennifer) (Filed on 3/15/2023) (Entered: 03/15/2023)

03/16/2023 17 COUNTERCLAIM against Miyoko's, PBC. Filed by Miyoko Schinner. (Bloom, Lisa) (Filed on 3/16/2023) (Entered: 03/16/2023)

03/16/2023 18 ANSWER to Complaint with Jury Demand , COUNTERCLAIM against Miyoko's, PBC by Miyoko Schinner. (Bloom, Lisa) (Filed on 3/16/2023) (Entered: 03/16/2023)

Miyoko's answer to original complaint. She denied or admitted their causes of action. What's interesting is that she denied there are trade secrets. Makes sense as she published a cookbook in 2012 titled Artisan Vegan Cheese with all her cheese recipes. Miyoko owns her cheese recipes though maybe not liquid moz because that's newer.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zERO4dxSETTPdKjqjmzITmEnfWLnTvsE/view?usp=sharing

Miyoko's counterclaim. A small fyi she actually formed the company December 2013 per her corporation statement. Suit says 2014. Rene Weber appears to be the man who allegedly denigrates women with the help of a few others i.e., James Joaquin of Obvious Ventures, John Kenney of Cult Capital, Daniel Gluck of PowerPlant Partners, John Zabrodsky hired by PowerPlant Partners, see below. I've noticed that venture capitalists tend to be part of the boys club. I've seen this behavior in public companies when venture capitalists get appointed to boards. The company made some horrible moves in this lawsuit and press release. I think the boys were behind it. They clearly don't know how to run a business especially an ethical plant based business founded by a much loved and respected woman. The company continues to use Miyoko's photos, likeness against her wishes after she sent cease and desist letters. It bothers me to see the business website today with her photos and story plastered all over it. It's good she never sold or gave that to the business especially because she didn't even get a golden handshake.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HvJPaEBOIKLRe6VPx5wrqJ0Qq9bwRSX8/view?usp=sharing

1. GENDER DISCRIMINATION (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(a))

2. FAILURE TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(k))

3. RETALIATION (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(h))

4. WRONGFUL TERMINATION INVIOLATION OF PUBLIC POLICY

5. VIOLATION OF RIGHT OF PUBLICITY (Cal. Civ. Code §3344)

6. MISAPPROPRIATION OF NAME AND LIKENESS

Below is just the main part of the main claim and factual events.

INTRODUCTION

1. Defendant and Counterclaimant Miyoko Schinner (“Miyoko”) is a

groundbreaking, beloved creator of popular plant-based cheeses and butter,

motivated by her passion to save animals and the planet. In 2014, she founded

Miyoko’s Kitchen (now Miyoko’s Creamery), a revolutionary, multi-million dollar

plant-based food corporation. Due to her hard work and under Miyoko’s

leadership, the company – Plaintiff and Counterdefendant Miyoko’s, PBC (“MP”)

– grew exponentially and exceeded all expectations year after year. Miyoko won

several awards and, in 2021, was named in Forbes Magazines’s 50 over 50. To

this day, MP acknowledges that Miyoko’s “passion for her craft and mission is

unrivaled.”1

2. In 2021, MP hired René Weber, an executive who singled out and openly

denigrated women, especially Miyoko, making it impossible for her to continue to

effectively do her job. On behalf of herself and other women at MP, Miyoko

complained to HR. MP swiftly retaliated against Miyoko by demoting her and then

terminating her.

3. To this day, MP continues to prominently display Miyoko’s name and

likeness on its website, despite its knowledge that it had no right to do so. MP has

flatly ignored her cease and desist letters demanding the removal of her likeness

from its websites.

4. Miyoko brings her Counterclaims against MP for unlawful employment

practices, including gender discrimination and retaliation, and for its unlawful use

of her likeness on its website without her consent. MP must now be held

accountable for the harm it caused her and continues to cause her.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

8. Over the past four decades, Miyoko has written vegan cookbooks, taught

cooking classes, opened and sold a vegan restaurant (called Now & Zen) and

launched a vegan natural foods company and vegan brands, including a competitor

to Tofurky. In 2012, she published Artisan Vegan Cheese, the seminal cookbook

that put vegan cheesemaking on the map.

9. In September 2014, Miyoko’s Kitchen, the vegan creamery company she

founded, went live online. Three days later, it had more than 500 unique orders,

averaging $100 each. Miyoko, who had earlier envisioned opening a little cheese

shop, began selling to distributors. The rest of the story is playing out today at

30,000 retailers, including Whole Foods and Target, both nationwide and

internationally. MP now has a current valuation of $260 million.

10. In January of 2021, MP hired Rene Weber to be VP of Operations. Mr.

Weber immediately began a campaign of mistreating women who worked at MP,

including Miyoko, by excluding them from meetings, denying them information

they needed, berating them publicly and privately, and otherwise making it

difficult to impossible to do their jobs. Mr. Weber openly denigrated women, their

expertise, and their contributions at MP, calling some “stupid” and “terrible.” He

did not use these condescending terms with men. On several occasions, he

mansplained to Miyoko that she did not understand her own products or MP, the

company she founded. In a markedly gendered tone, he described her ideas and

ambition as unrealistic, driven by emotion and whim.

11. Miyoko, then CEO of MP, often complained to James Joaquin (Co-

Founder & Managing Director of Obvious Ventures, an investor of MP) and John

Kenney (Co-Founder at Cult Capital, an investor of MP) about Mr. Weber’s

condescending behavior to her which she believed was due to her gender.

12. In December 2021, John Zabrodsky, an operations consultant hired by

MP at the behest of PowerPlant Partners (MP’s lead investor), presented a report

on MP operations in a meeting wherein he addressed Miyoko in a very

condescending manner. He would not have addressed her in this manner had

Miyoko not been a woman. Miyoko complained about Mr. Zabrodsky’s gendered

behavior to an executive at PowerPlant Partners.

13. In early 2022, after Miyoko made multiple complaints about Mr.

Weber’s mistreatment of women, MP directed her to promote Mr. Weber to the

position of Chief Operating Officer due to its concerns that he was a “flight risk.”

Mr. Kenney acknowledged Miyoko’s prior complaints of Mr. Weber’s

mistreatment of women at MP, but he told her that we “could not afford to lose”

Mr. Weber and that MP needed to promote Mr. Weber. Another executive noted to

Miyoko that Mr. Weber was “our key to get to $200 million” in sales.

14. In January of 2022, at a Board meeting, Miyoko reported Mr.

Zabrodsky’s gendered behavior to Daniel Gluck (Managing Partner of PowerPlant

Partners), Mr. Kenney, Mr. Joaquin and Mr. Weber. Mr. Gluck quickly rebuffed

her by saying, “I don’t know about any misogyny, but we need to discuss [Mr.

Zabrodsky’s operations] report. What else does it say?”

15. In February 2022, Miyoko complained to Lisa Feria (an MP Board

member and Managing Partner & CEO at Stray Dog Capital, an investor of MP)

about gendered treatment against her by members of the Board. Miyoko perceived

much of this gendered treatment when it doubted her capabilities as CEO and

sought to hire a President to seize much of her responsibilities. Ms. Feria confided

in Miyoko about feeling ineffective and ignored by the male Board members in

meetings.

16. In late May of 2022, Miyoko complained to MP’s then Director of HR

about gendered treatment from Jorge Couce, a Senior Director at MP. Upon

information and belief, HR never investigated Miyoko’s gender discrimination

complaint.

17. On June 9, 2022, MP’s Board removed Miyoko from MP’s CEO role.

Miyoko remained as MP’s Board Chair and as a MP employee. Jon Blair, MP’s

Chief Financial Officer, stepped into the role of interim President to guide the

transition and run day-to-day operations.

18. On June 14, 2022, Miyoko emailed Mr. Blair to complain about Mr.

Weber. She stated in the email:

We lost two female employees due to [Mr. Weber’s]

mistreatment of them – I found an email from Louis [Kanganis]

about one of them, actually. He was going to fire another

female in his department earlier this year, someone who has

been here for years and while not stellar, has been a good

member of the team and is willing to do anything despite her

age and family issues. I was able to put a stop to that. He has a

dismissive way with female employees that is not good.

19. On July 9, 2022, Miyoko confirmed her prior oral complaints of gender

discrimination in an email to Ms. Feria, presenting a “timeline of misses, issues,

and other problems in [her] assessment of [Mr. Weber].” She wrote, in part:

At least 8 women have complained about [Mr. Weber’s]

rudeness, arrogance, and dismissive attitude. It is well known

that his demeanor toward them contributed to the parting of at

least two [names omitted]. Others were too afraid to complain

about him because he wields so much power. Tight with the HR

Director, making it difficult for low-level employees to do

anything. On a number of occasions, employees have come to

me with problems or complaints that had fallen on deaf ears

with HR or Ops. When I reported the complaints, and HR

would do an “investigation,” and the fault invariably fell with

those complaining, while those complained about were found

innocent. He has openly criticized a number of female

employees to me, calling them “not good,” “stupid,” “terrible,”

etc. One employee apparently reported leaving because of

“integrity issues” with René and Jorge. Prior to my

“reassignment,” I reported to René that it had come to my

attention that 4 women recently had felt dismissed or

disrespected by Jorge. He seemed surprised and told me to file

a complaint with HR, which I did. There was time to get back

to me on this before my vacation, and assuming that Lenora had

not been informed I had been fired, but she nor René never did.

20. Just a few days later, on July 28, 2022 MP terminated Miyoko’s

employment entirely. MP set August 12, 2022 as the effective termination date.

21. MP’s termination of Miyoko’s employment was an act of retaliation for

her complaints of discrimination against Mr. Weber and Mr. Zabrodsky. Indeed,

Mr. Joaquin earlier characterized Miyoko’s attempts to hold Mr. Weber

accountable for his misconduct as “irrational.” It bothered MP executives that

Miyoko stood up for her rights and the rights of other women in the company,

demanding respectful treatment and refusing to conform to the stereotype of a

docile, complacent, obedient Asian-American woman. Miyoko was not acceptable

to them as a person with decision-making power and authority in the company. It

was only the image of her celebrity status and prominence in the vegan and food

worlds which MP continues to use in branding and marketing that MP desired to

retain.

22. After Miyoko’s termination, Mr. Blair advised her that she could keep

the keys to MP’s premises and that she could keep her two company laptops.

23. MP never obtained the right to use Miyoko’s name, image and likeness

after her termination. Yet MP used Miyoko’s name, image and likeness on its

website and on a food truck that was about to commence a multi-week tour from

California to Austin. In August 18, 2022, Miyoko, through her legal counsel,

demanded that MP cease and desist its use and exploitation of her publicity rights.

After receiving no response, Miyoko, through her legal counsel, again demanded

that MP cease and desist its use and exploitation of her publicity rights. To this

day, MP has willfully refused to comply – Miyoko’s name, image and likeness

remains on its website and the food truck completed the multi-week tour from

California to Austin.

24. MP has excluded Miyoko from Board meetings and from her rights as a

director to “inspect and copy all books, records and documents of every kind” as

provided by California Corporations Code section 8334.

Here is video of Rene Weber saying Miyoko made all the recipes and built the business to what it is today June 2022. He said their cheese isn't an empty product made out of oil and starch, like the shreds? This guy doesn't seem to be into animals.He says the cheese is good for you and the planet. What about the animals? They don't have to be treated cruelly then killed. He's allegedly a Swiss master cheese maker. He appears to be pro dairy and pro dairy cheese. Here is his resume. He's from Bern. https://rocketreach.co/rene-weber-email_98230149

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7eVmnk7b3g

March 1, 2023 Miyoko Schinner hired Lisa Bloom to represent her in the lawsuit.

https://breakthesilence.substack.com/p/miyoko-schinner-retains-lisa-bloom

Here is the complaint against Miyoko Schinner. It's a public document.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ZG7FpuwJdODjByVl11i-9hMt_5b_UrX/view?usp=sharing

Summary of lawsuit: Miyoko Schinner started Miyoko's, Miyoko's Kitchen, Miyoko's Creamery in 2013. It was incorporated in California and merged into a new Delaware corporation in 2019 as Miyoko's Kitchen Inc and Miyoko's PBC. Miyoko Schinner is an award-winning Vegan celebrity chef who developed the best vegan butter and cheeses while writing vegan cheese cookbooks. Through her many years of very hard work she made her company into a $250,000,000 company getting her product in all the major grocery stores and markets. She is a well respected business woman in her field. She also runs Rancho Compasion.

Miyoko's sought out venture capital starting in 2016 in order to expand production due to high demand. When you accept venture capital they expect a few seats on the board of directors. Miyoko's Creamery is a B Corporation and a Public Benefit PBC corporation. June 2022 the board voted to fire Miyoko Schinner as the CEO of Miyoko's. She was demoted to another position and stayed with the company and on the board as Chairman of the Board. There was expected to be negotiations on a separation, rearrangement with the company. That didn't happen and then the company fired Miyoko outright.

February 2023 the company sued Miyoko for allegedly taking trade secrets and records. Later that month Miyoko hired Lisa Bloom to represent her. There will most likely be a counter suit.

My personal opinion is that the finance guys on the board just wanted to make more profits. I think this had to do with Miyoko discontinuing the shreds and slices March 2022. "She would never approve an oil and starch product with no nutritional value. She admitted that the corporation had done so in order to “play the game.” She described the items as “compromises to the brand’s values and product guardrails.” " "In deciding to pull the product off the marketplace, we had to make the decision to take a hit to our revenues in order to re-establish our brand values.” I don't know anyone on the inside so this is just my speculation based on timing. She was fired, demoted three months later at the next board meeting.

Whatever the case the company should not have sued Miyoko. At the very minimum they should not have put everything they did in writing in the public lawsuit including her working agreement. They should have filed a vague suit then both parties could have agreed to keep all discovery, exhibits under seal. Sounds like some young finance guys thinking they're the Wolves of Wall Street making big mistakes. They are harming profits more than eliminating shreds and slices.

Company press release February 16,2023 about the lawsuit.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230216005343/en/Miyoko%E2%80%99s-Creamery-Announces-Executive-Transition

This list may not be up to date. I'm trying to verify.

Employees

Louis Kanganis is the company President.
Jon Blair CFO and acting CEO
Deborah Foster Co-Chief Executive Officer
Emad Halaka Co-Chief Executive Officer
May Ethan President
Pete Cohen President
René Weber Chief Operating Officer

Board of Directors

Christopher Kerr Unovis Asset Management Board Observer
Chuck Muth Self Board Member
Daniel Gluck PowerPlant Partners Board Member
James Joaquin Obvious Ventures Board Member
John Kenney Cult Capital Board Member

Investors

Bruce Friedrich Angel (individual) Minority
CPT Capital Venture Capital Minority
Ellen DeGeneres Angel (individual) Minority
Portia de Rossi Angel (individual) Minority
PowerPlant Partners Venture Capital Minority

ORIGINAL: U.S. District Court California Northern District (Oakland) CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 4:23-cv-00711-DMR

Miyoko's, PBC v. Schinner

Assigned to: Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu
Cause: 18:1836(a) - Injunction against Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
Date Filed: 02/16/2023
Jury Demand: Plaintiff
Nature of Suit: 880 Defend Trade Secrets Act (of 2016)
Jurisdiction: Federal Question

Plaintiff

Miyoko's, PBC, a Delaware Corporation represented by Mike Costes Flesuras Mintz
3580 Carmel Mountain Rd Ste 300
San Diego, CA 92130
951-551-4557
Email: mcflesuras@mintz.com

LEAD ATTORNEY

Nicole M Rivers 858-314-1897 Email: NMRivers@mintz.com

Micha Danzig Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC 858-314-1500 Fax: 858-314-1500 Email: mdanzig@mintz.com

Defendant

Miyoko Schinner represented by Alan Goldstein The Bloom Firm 26565 Agoura Road Suite 200 Calabasas, CA 91302 818-914-7319 Email: Avi@thebloomfirm.com

Lisa Bloom The Bloom Firm

Miyoko's Creamery, Miyoko Schinner, Lisa Bloom, lawsuit, complaint, mary cummins, investigative reporter, trade secrets, vegan, cheese, vegan cheese, woman, board, Louis Kanganis

DOCKET BELOW.

Date Filed # Docket Text

02/16/2023 1 COMPLAINT (with jury demand) against Miyoko Schinner (Filing fee $ 402, receipt number ACANDC-17999346). Filed by Miyoko's, PBC. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet)(Danzig, Micha) (Filed on 2/16/2023) Modified on 2/17/2023 (cjl, COURT STAFF). (Entered: 02/16/2023)

02/16/2023 2 Proposed Summons. (Danzig, Micha) (Filed on 2/16/2023) (Entered: 02/16/2023)

02/16/2023 3 Rule 7.1 Disclosures by Miyoko's, PBC (Danzig, Micha) (Filed on 2/16/2023) (Entered: 02/16/2023)

02/16/2023 4 Certificate of Interested Entities by Miyoko's, PBC (Danzig, Micha) (Filed on 2/16/2023) (Entered: 02/17/2023)

02/17/2023 5 Case assigned to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu.

Counsel for plaintiff or the removing party is responsible for serving the Complaint or Notice of Removal, Summons and the assigned judge's standing orders and all other new case documents upon the opposing parties. For information, visit E-Filing A New Civil Case at http://cand.uscourts.gov/ecf/caseopening.

Standing orders can be downloaded from the court's web page at www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges. Upon receipt, the summons will be issued and returned electronically. A scheduling order will be sent by Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) within two business days. Consent/Declination due by 3/3/2023. (jrs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/17/2023) (Entered: 02/17/2023)

02/17/2023 6 Summons Issued as to Miyoko Schinner. (cjl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/17/2023) (Entered: 02/17/2023)

02/17/2023 7 Initial Case Management Scheduling Order with ADR Deadlines: Case Management Statement due by 5/10/2023. Initial Case Management Conference set for 5/17/2023 01:30 PM in Oakland, Courtroom 4, 3rd Floor. (cjl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/17/2023) (Entered: 02/17/2023)

02/27/2023 8 NOTICE of Appearance by Alan Goldstein for Defendant Miyoko Schinner (Goldstein, Alan) (Filed on 2/27/2023) (Entered: 02/27/2023)

02/27/2023 9 NOTICE of Appearance by Alan Goldstein for Lisa Bloom for Defendant Miyoko Schinner (Goldstein, Alan) (Filed on 2/27/2023) (Entered: 02/27/2023)

02/28/2023 Electronic filing error. Attorney Alan Goldstein Must Update ECF Profile with Current Contact Information. [err102] Re: 8 Notice of Appearance filed by Miyoko Schinner. (cjl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/28/2023) (Entered: 02/28/2023)

02/28/2023 Electronic filing error. Each attorney of Record Must file Their Own Notice of Appearance Using Their Own ECF Sign on. Additionally, the Document Should Reflect the Correct Jurisdiction. [err102] This filing will not be processed by the clerks office. Please re-file in its entirety Re: 9 Notice of Appearance filed by Miyoko Schinner. (cjl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/28/2023) (Entered: 02/28/2023)

03/01/2023 10 NOTICE of Appearance by Lisa Bloom for Defendant Miyoko Schinner (Bloom, Lisa) (Filed on 3/1/2023) (Entered: 03/01/2023)