why care?
Just when you think you're safe, this too could happen to you.
"It's very difficult to prove something didn't happen” - James Comey
It is true, a defamation lawsuit was put forward by our family. And it is true, our family lost the case, as the burden of proof was not able to be met for a variety of reasons; however, this does not mean it did not happen.
Those who have been a part of a lawsuit, whether Plaintiff or Defendant, know,
“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.” - A Few Good Men
A defamation case has a high burden of proof, in fact, we were discouraged by a number of people and advised to refrain from pursuing our claim, given the time and money we risked losing. Despite knowing the loss would likely occur, we were willing to spend the time and money so our voices could be heard. And they were.
Important lessons were learned and reinforced throughout the case, but ultimately, the truth is not always discovered through the justice system.
Dr. Michelle Zimmerman may have been able to escape the legal definition of the defamation claim, however, the Zimmermans cannot escape the well-documented and open conduct of their abuse of power, patterns of narrative distortion, white fragility, bigotry, and attempts at damage control to discredit our family.
this has never been about the case itself— our story transcends the defamation claim.
We accept the decision of the Court; however, we believe the Zimmermans lied and used every tool available to them through their power and positions in order to corroborate their stories. The two-year legal process, ending on February 12, 2018, served as a stepping stone toward exposing the great lengths that DPZ will go to in order to enable his daughter, Michelle, even at the cost and harm of innocent people affiliated with Renton Prep / AGCS.
on the defensive
On April 2, 2018, Dr. Michelle Zimmerman ("Michelle") and Dr. David-Paul Zimmerman ("DPZ") emailed a letter to Members of the Renton Prep / Amazing Grace Communities that stated, in part,
"Although the [Fernandez and extended family] claim they are 'sharing their truth,' they continue to distort reality and spread falsehoods."
That,
our family is "clearly upset with the [Court's] verdict,"
and
has "engaged in a social media attack with the clear intent to destroy the reputations of [the Zimmerman family] and the School," which "included statements calling [the Zimmermans] racists."
Furthermore, in April 2018, the Zimmermans, or a representative of Renton Prep, wrote the following overview on the Great Schools website that falsely states,
"1 star reviews are from a family who sued and lost lawsuit against the school and its leadership. Have resorted to cyberbullying and doing best to discredit court ruling."
In response to these ludicrous accusations:
1) It is the Zimmermans who 'distort reality and spread falsehoods' by alleging false claims of "physical threats" and "bullying," by our family. We have not posted anything untrue or that is not well-documented in court records or testimonies. We will not allow these falsities to go unchallenged.
2) On Sunday, February 11, 2018, DPZ initiated the first public media post, which was truly a distortion of actual events. In recent months, multiple Google Reviews posted by family members have been removed. It is well within our rights to respond accordingly to the Zimmermans' attempts to silence and discredit our family.
3) The Zimmermans may not like the social media posts by our family members, but these posts do not constitute cyberbullying, as they are not intimidating or threatening in nature. Our public responses are not intended as 'attacks,' rather truthful responses to the fabrications and misrepresentations by the Zimmermans.
4) Pointing out the toxic and racist behaviors does not make our family responsible for "destroy[ing] the reputations of [the Zimmerman family] and the school," as alleged by Michelle and DPZ. They, themselves, are the culprits, destroying their reputations all on their own.
5) Is our family disappointed with the verdict? Of course. We have conducted ourselves with the utmost integrity and and accept the court's ruling. Having nothing to hide, we have provided the court ruling, together with the judgment, and many other court documents on this website for others to be their own judge.
For these reasons and more, we felt compelled to share our experience and the many revelations that have come forward during our two year journey.
Through this website, we have included documentation to demonstrate the truth of our statements and case-in-point.
The evidence speaks for itself. You be the judge.
In the end, God knows the truth. The Zimmermans will have to be accountable to our Maker for their iniquities on Judgment Day.
To find out more about our family's story, go to Prequel of Events.
