Of interest: High-Tech filed two seperate motions. The first was a motion for release of improperly seized assets. This is the one that the judge denied. The second was a motion to amend the conditions of release. This is the one that High-Tech requested the prohibition of the sale of DMAA be lifted. Both motions where scheduled to be heard by the judge yesterday but it appears that she only ruled on one… I’m not sure what that means. Perhaps Priceplow could shed some light on this?
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That ruling was submitted electronically on PACER, so I’m not sure if they even really had a date - I heard it got backed up another week.
Listened to Episode 4 of the Price Plow podcast and learned about this fight. Win or lose, this is gonna be a game changer in the Supplement Industry.
There was a hearing on the 2 seperate motions that where both on the docket for November 29th. What I️ was questioning was why there is only an order for the motion that involved the money and no order, that I️ can see, for the one about the DMAA…
No clue. Maybe @Jared_Wheat would chime in on it.
Possibly because the judge wants to see them in person over this part before ruling, but then backed it up due to sickness.
I’m pretty certain that Jared Wheat and his attorneys where in court on November 29th to hear arguments about the issue of the seizure of property and the conditions of release that included the prohibition on the sale of DMAA. It would be great if JW could weigh in on this!
The hearing got pushed a week due to the judge’s illness. We filed what they call a rule 41 motion for the return of our DMAA in a separate motion than the motion to change bond. The motion was part of a motion to suppress evidence related to the DMAA search. If we win the bond issue I assume they will return our seized goods as their issue will be moot about us not selling DMAA. The civil FDA and justice department also made representations over the past 4 years in court they would take no more action against Hi-Tech until the case was over. To do so would enable us to file a motion called Estoppel, which is a legal principle that bars a party from taking different litigation positions. The rationale behind estoppel is to prevent injustice owing to inconsistency. The money motion the government did an end around on $3 million of the $3.4 by filing a CIVIL lawsuit. If you are going to allege a crime then why do you have to resort to civil law?? We are filing a motion to dismiss the civil case for failure to state a claim as to why they are entitled to $3 million. Their civil claim states the expect to find that amount of money during discovery had been sold of red yeast rice and hence subject to forfeiture. First, we sold very little red yeast rice so they lose and second when you sue someone you have to have stated your case in the lawsuit not hope to develop it during litigation. It was simply a stall tactic and government doing all they can to hamper our defenses by hurting cash flow. We appreciate all our supporters and will continue to fight as this impacts more than just DMAA.
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It was simply a stall tactic and government doing all they can to hamper our defenses by hurting cash flow.
This is 100% correct, although they’ll say it’s to keep you from hiding or spending money that could be used as potential damages/penalty/restitution payments. It’s really about getting you to capitulate due to financial contraints.
We appreciate all our supporters and will continue to fight as this impacts more than just DMAA.
I hope you win. Or else, my supply of Mesomoprh will run out sometime next year, but I also hope you win because the FDA played dirty.
I hope you also realize that the FDA and DOJ are probably reading your posts, so while I very much appreciate you telling us what’s going on, you should consider limiting disclosure of any legal strategy that wouldn’t be obvious and expected.
I PRAY FOR U EVERY DAY Jared_Wheat
We need DMAA
The FDA acts like a lifeless crime organization
I am aware the FDA and DOJ are reading things like this as the DOJ has quoted my press releases and such in court documents as they sought an injunction while we appealed to the 11th circuit which they were denied. I have a complete defense of innocence and it is rare in federal criminal cases as you know.
Thanks for the prayers as we need them fighting the most powerful engine in the world – being the federal government.
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Mr. Wheat!
First thank you for fighting, as you stated it’s about more than DMAA, it’s about freedom of choice!
Are you aware about the recent DEA vs. kratom action? They were set to schedule kratom but backed off due to public exposure and outcry. Maybe it’s time to implement the same strategy and make serious noise about this issue?
When they return your DMAA make sure to take pictures like you did last time when they returned your ephedra
We will definitely be taking video this time as they took over 5 full truckloads. I am aware of the kratom action and have tried to make as much noise about DMAA as I can. Sometimes it is tough when very few in our industry stand up for “what is right” and freedom of choice. If we worked together rather than apart we would have a louder voice. That is the success of the pharmaceutical industry as they all work together towards keeping their products available as a whole not just one company standing alone by itself like we have done. I manufacture acetaminophen (tylenol) and the CDC poison control centers around the U.S. found “458 deaths a year are due to acute liver failure each year.” Acetaminophen overdose sends as many as 78,000 Americans to the emergency room annually and results in 33,000 hospitalizations a year, federal data shows. Acetaminophen is also the nation’s leading cause of acute liver failure, according to data from an ongoing study funded by the National Institutes for Health. The FDA believes the rewards outweigh the risks, which I agree with. My point is DMAA has no bodies in over 200 million doses sold by Hi-Tech, but the government did not try to make a condition of my bond that I would not sell Acetaminophen or Aspirin, which causes more than 3,000 deaths a year, a major study suggests. We manufacture it also but not the subject of the governments witch hunt.
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For those following along here, I just checked PACER and there’s nothing new.
Posted right after my above post - the judge did hear oral arguments regarding the Motion to Modify Conditions of Release… and it has been Taken Under Advisement.
Deliberation; consultation. A court takes a case under advisement after it has heard the arguments made by the counsel of opposing sides in the lawsuit but before it renders its decision.
So the judge is thinking about it… much hangs in the balance, I wonder how soon we’ll get an order on it.
Perhaps Jared could give us some insight on how that hearing went and what his thoughts are about the possible outcome? There are a lot of people waiting to find out the fate of DMAA… @Jared_Wheat
It appears that the Judge has denied Hi-techs motion to modify conditions of release. It’s a sad day for DMAA users.
Wow, right you are. Motion DENIED here (updated with proper URL):
Basic jist is that the judge doesn’t want to revisit another judge’s decision, so take it up with the 11th Circuit. Until then, you agreed not to make the stuff and go against that previous court decision and we’re sticking with that.
That appeal could take quite a long time, so this is truly bad news for DMAA supplements.
How about putting the entire order from the court that was just handed down on the 13th of December?