Luckily my kids and I were in Colorado the weeks leading up to and on the day of mediation, so my husband was able to concentrate on getting his stuff together, and the kids and I were occupied and away from all the stress. My girlfriend and I did some retail therapy to try and keep my mind off of what was going on at home, it seemed like eternity before I finally heard from my husband.
I finally received a phone call - everything was going great. David Tieman had told the judge that there was no way he wanted to stay in business with my husband and wanted to buy us out. Awesome - great news. They were on a lunch break, David's lawyer was getting paperwork drawn up, we were well on our way to parting ways, all was looking up, this nightmare was going to be over... Or so we thought....
A little more insight into the character of David Tieman. This mediation was set up so that Rick and his lawyer were in one room, David Tieman and and his lawyer were in another, and the judge bounced in between the two rooms. The two rooms that my husband and David Tieman were in happen to be across from each other and happened to be glass. Because my husband had nothing to hide from, nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to fear, he sat looking right at David's room. David Tieman on the other hand, sat with his back to my husband's room. Coward - plain and simple.
Anyway.... hours pass and I have not heard another word from my husband. It's about 6pm California time so I'm wondering why he hasn't called me or returned my calls. When I finally get a hold of him it was obvious all was not well. As typical with David Tieman, key points to the buy out that were agreed upon prior to lunch where then changed to something completely different when they came back from lunch. When my husband and his lawyer disagreed with what came back, and the judge agreed that they were not the original terms, the judge went to speak with David Tieman and his legal counsel. David's lawyer then walked into my husband's room, slammed paperwork down on the desk and announced that he had been served. David Tieman, three weeks prior to our mediation, had already filed a lawsuit against not only Rick, but against me as well. Because, well, fighting two lawsuits cost twice as much.
And this is my favorite part - David Tieman walked out of his room practically walking side ways to avoid any and all possibility of having eye contact with my husband - and trust me, Rick was trying with all his might to make eye contact.
Coward.... Plain and simple....
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
2009.... And The Saga Continues....
Alrighty, lets march forward with the story....
March, April and May..... Oh my my!!
Obviously trust became a HUGE issue, but as I stated, we were too far invested in this dream and my husband felt it was still possible to get things under control. The problem we didn't really comprehend at that time is, "things" weren't out of control, people were.
Because it would take me forever to fill in all the gaps, and because I don't want to bore you, I'll just say that everything continued to slide downhill. It would have its moments of looking promising, but then lack of character and lack of integrity would prove that things were not changing.
Fast forward to Memorial Day, 2009. This would be the last day my husband would have an actual conversation with his partner David Tieman....
Now, for the sake of "the other side of the story", truth be told, by this time David Tieman had come to really dislike my husband. I would take a gander that if you talked to him he would tell you that my husband is selfish and has anger issues. If not agreeing with or to everything your partner desires is selfish, if running a company with integrity and efficiently is selfish, then yes my husband is selfish. If getting frustrated with someone who can not be told he's incorrect, who does not like to be questioned about his actions, who makes decisions based on what he wants not what is right or best for the company, then yes, my husband was easily angered. Not to mention we had everything financially on the line. We were investing our funds into this company, we had everything monetary to lose.
Back to Memorial Day.... Tiemans Fusion Coffee was at an outside event serving coffee. I believe the straw that broke the camel's back occurred that day. My husband questioned David Tieman on a purchase that he had made and as I stated David Tieman does not like being questioned. I also believe at this point it had become David's opinion that he was ranked the superior partner who had the only right to make any and every decision - period. They worked the event, went their separate ways, and then all communication from him stopped. During that week we did receive a text message from him stating that he was sick, but he would not answer a phone call or email message.
During the next several weeks, and still no communication with my husband, David Tieman started draining the company bank account. Once again, a substantial amount of the money was written to himself.
Finally we receive a phone call....
To meet him at his lawyer's office. We lawyer up, and a mediation date is set for July.....
To be continued....
March, April and May..... Oh my my!!
Obviously trust became a HUGE issue, but as I stated, we were too far invested in this dream and my husband felt it was still possible to get things under control. The problem we didn't really comprehend at that time is, "things" weren't out of control, people were.
Because it would take me forever to fill in all the gaps, and because I don't want to bore you, I'll just say that everything continued to slide downhill. It would have its moments of looking promising, but then lack of character and lack of integrity would prove that things were not changing.
Fast forward to Memorial Day, 2009. This would be the last day my husband would have an actual conversation with his partner David Tieman....
Now, for the sake of "the other side of the story", truth be told, by this time David Tieman had come to really dislike my husband. I would take a gander that if you talked to him he would tell you that my husband is selfish and has anger issues. If not agreeing with or to everything your partner desires is selfish, if running a company with integrity and efficiently is selfish, then yes my husband is selfish. If getting frustrated with someone who can not be told he's incorrect, who does not like to be questioned about his actions, who makes decisions based on what he wants not what is right or best for the company, then yes, my husband was easily angered. Not to mention we had everything financially on the line. We were investing our funds into this company, we had everything monetary to lose.
Back to Memorial Day.... Tiemans Fusion Coffee was at an outside event serving coffee. I believe the straw that broke the camel's back occurred that day. My husband questioned David Tieman on a purchase that he had made and as I stated David Tieman does not like being questioned. I also believe at this point it had become David's opinion that he was ranked the superior partner who had the only right to make any and every decision - period. They worked the event, went their separate ways, and then all communication from him stopped. During that week we did receive a text message from him stating that he was sick, but he would not answer a phone call or email message.
During the next several weeks, and still no communication with my husband, David Tieman started draining the company bank account. Once again, a substantial amount of the money was written to himself.
Finally we receive a phone call....
To meet him at his lawyer's office. We lawyer up, and a mediation date is set for July.....
To be continued....
A Little Additional Info.....
Before I continue with the rest of '09, I want to give you a little bit more background....
Tiemans Fusion Coffee was established in the summer of 2008. My husband and his partner shook hands one sunny day on the beach in San Clemente and decided to go forward into business.
My husband's business partner is my husband's cousins husband (follow that??!). In a nutshell, he's family. We spent every Saturday night together attending church and dinner afterward. They joined our church small group and were at our home every Wed. night.
The point I'm making is, our relationship was not only based on a social one because we are family, but we were also rooted in the same christian principals and values....
Or so we thought....
Tiemans Fusion Coffee was established in the summer of 2008. My husband and his partner shook hands one sunny day on the beach in San Clemente and decided to go forward into business.
My husband's business partner is my husband's cousins husband (follow that??!). In a nutshell, he's family. We spent every Saturday night together attending church and dinner afterward. They joined our church small group and were at our home every Wed. night.
The point I'm making is, our relationship was not only based on a social one because we are family, but we were also rooted in the same christian principals and values....
Or so we thought....
Thursday, January 21, 2010
2009.... Continued....
February continued with more crappiness...
After I returned from Colorado, and while I was still struggling with significant amounts of emotions, we received a phone call from the bank regarding our business account. It was overdrawn almost ten thousand dollars!
As a reminder, my husband and his partner had started a coffee business in 2008. My husband had fiduciary control, the only one with a check book and debit card.
Of course my husband called David Tieman immediately to find out what could possibly be going on. David Tieman played stupid, stating he would "immediately" run to the bank to get a current statement and then "be right over". He said this for four days. My husband finally went to the bank himself and found out the truth we suspected all along, without our knowledge his partner ordered checks and a card from the bank and paid all his personal bills out of the company account for the month of February.
In a nutshell, he had two weeks to replace the money into the bank but, unfortunately for us, he was not able to do so. We had to borrow the money from my parents to prevent the bank from closing our account and going forward with legal action.
I am forty three years old, can I tell you how much it sucked to go to my parents asking for money? And to be told by your partner, there was nothing wrong with what he did, he had to pay his bills!! I tell my children all the time, if you have to hide it, IT'S WRONG, plain and simple.
At that point, we should have taking a long hard look at the situation and looked for an exit strategy, but we were too emotionally and financially invested to see the true character of who we were in business with.
To be continued....
After I returned from Colorado, and while I was still struggling with significant amounts of emotions, we received a phone call from the bank regarding our business account. It was overdrawn almost ten thousand dollars!
As a reminder, my husband and his partner had started a coffee business in 2008. My husband had fiduciary control, the only one with a check book and debit card.
Of course my husband called David Tieman immediately to find out what could possibly be going on. David Tieman played stupid, stating he would "immediately" run to the bank to get a current statement and then "be right over". He said this for four days. My husband finally went to the bank himself and found out the truth we suspected all along, without our knowledge his partner ordered checks and a card from the bank and paid all his personal bills out of the company account for the month of February.
In a nutshell, he had two weeks to replace the money into the bank but, unfortunately for us, he was not able to do so. We had to borrow the money from my parents to prevent the bank from closing our account and going forward with legal action.
I am forty three years old, can I tell you how much it sucked to go to my parents asking for money? And to be told by your partner, there was nothing wrong with what he did, he had to pay his bills!! I tell my children all the time, if you have to hide it, IT'S WRONG, plain and simple.
At that point, we should have taking a long hard look at the situation and looked for an exit strategy, but we were too emotionally and financially invested to see the true character of who we were in business with.
To be continued....
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
2009....
Last year was just plain crappy.... It all began in February....
My two best friends in the whole world, Steve and Cindy moved from California to Colorado five years ago. My relationship with them began with Steve.
I met Steve when I was 18 years old working in corporate America, he was a vendor and I coordinated his work. We clicked and became fast "work" friends. He married Cindy and she ended up getting a job in the department I worked in , we became close friends right away. Our work relationship soon became a personal relationship as Cindy and I quickly became best friends.
I ended up leaving that job and actually went to work for Steve. I was his right hand "wo"man for 14 years. Steve sold his business and they moved to Colorado. That was one of the saddest days of my life, watching my friends who I spent so much time with, pull away to begin a new life so far away.
We have spent two to three weeks together every summer since they've moved - Colorado has become our second home.
So, that brings us to February 13th, 2009, when I received a phone call that spun my world. My friend, whom I loved so much, had taken his life. The day before Valentines day, my friend chose to leave his wife and daughter.
I flew out to Colorado as quickly as I could and I spent the following week assisting my girlfriend with all that needed to be handled. Making arrangements to have a body dealt with and death certificates issued is tragic, but under these circumstances it was just plain wrong....
It's been almost a year now and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about Steve, be it a good thought or an angry one. I don't know that I will ever forgive him for being so selfish, for leaving his wife and child, his family, his friends...
I miss my friend....
My two best friends in the whole world, Steve and Cindy moved from California to Colorado five years ago. My relationship with them began with Steve.
I met Steve when I was 18 years old working in corporate America, he was a vendor and I coordinated his work. We clicked and became fast "work" friends. He married Cindy and she ended up getting a job in the department I worked in , we became close friends right away. Our work relationship soon became a personal relationship as Cindy and I quickly became best friends.
I ended up leaving that job and actually went to work for Steve. I was his right hand "wo"man for 14 years. Steve sold his business and they moved to Colorado. That was one of the saddest days of my life, watching my friends who I spent so much time with, pull away to begin a new life so far away.
We have spent two to three weeks together every summer since they've moved - Colorado has become our second home.
So, that brings us to February 13th, 2009, when I received a phone call that spun my world. My friend, whom I loved so much, had taken his life. The day before Valentines day, my friend chose to leave his wife and daughter.
I flew out to Colorado as quickly as I could and I spent the following week assisting my girlfriend with all that needed to be handled. Making arrangements to have a body dealt with and death certificates issued is tragic, but under these circumstances it was just plain wrong....
It's been almost a year now and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about Steve, be it a good thought or an angry one. I don't know that I will ever forgive him for being so selfish, for leaving his wife and child, his family, his friends...
I miss my friend....
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Oh The Truth Hurts.....
Cleaning Poem
I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been 'computering',
And I had to answer 'yes.'
He told me to get off my fanny
And tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.
I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work.
I didn't mean to 'click.'
But click, I did, and oops I found
A real absorbing site.
That I got SO way into it.
I was into it all night.
Nothing's changed except my mouse
It's very, very shiny.
I guess my house will stay a mess....
While I sit here on my hiney.
I asked the Lord to tell me
Why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been 'computering',
And I had to answer 'yes.'
He told me to get off my fanny
And tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up...
The smudges off my mouse.
I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick...
I was just admiring my work.
I didn't mean to 'click.'
But click, I did, and oops I found
A real absorbing site.
That I got SO way into it.
I was into it all night.
Nothing's changed except my mouse
It's very, very shiny.
I guess my house will stay a mess....
While I sit here on my hiney.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Just Want To Share.....
I get bored easily, and I can guarantee you my background will change often. I came across this website, so cool, thought I'd share.....
http://template-mama-freebloggertemplates.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
http://template-mama-freebloggertemplates.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
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