Jose Lopez, Bertha Aguirre, Magdaleno Lopez, Maria Lopez v. Roberto Lemus, Bell Services, Jose Luis Garcia
Published: Apr. 22, 2003 | Result Date: Dec. 6, 2002 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC263586 Bench Decision – $70,000
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Sean M. Kneafsey
(The Kneafsey Firm)
Defendant
Facts
The plaintiffs are husband and wife, their son and his wife. In January 2001, the plaintiffs went to the defendant Roberto Lemus and his immigration firm, Bell Services, to obtain legal residence in the United States. The plaintiffs believed that the defendant Lemus was an attorney. They paid him $950 to process forms that were in fact requests for political asylum which they didn't qualify for. Subsequently, the plaintiffs received notification from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to attend a political asylum interview. The plaintiff parents went for the interview, were denied political asylum and were found deportable by the INS. The plaintiff son canceled his political asylum application. Deportation proceedings were filed against him as well. Public Counsel, a non-profit organization providing free legal service to low-income clients, referred the case to the firm of Hennigan, Bennett & Dorman in Los Angeles. This firm focused on obtaining an injunction to close down Lemus' business.
Damages
Together with the injunction, the plaintiffs sought monetary damages.
Result
A stipulated judgment of $70,000, in addition to an injunction, shutting the business down was entered against the defendants.
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