Immigration service owner sues attorney, INS officials

Bill Gang

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

A Las Vegas immigration service owner who was sued two years ago over charges of practicing law without a license and producing shoddy work lashed back Monday at those she said have conspired to destroy her livelihood.

Malena Burnett, who heads the nonprofit Fair Treatment for Immigrants, filed her own lawsuit Monday alleging defamation, conspiracy and misuse of the court system to curtail what she said were her inexpensive and effective alternatives to lawyers.

The conspirators, the lawsuit contends, included "trial attorneys and statutory judges employed by the INS division of the federal government."

Burnett claims in the lawsuit that federal immigration judges are supporting the pursuit of her because her work to gain legal status for immigrants has resulted in an increase in case filings in court.

"The ulterior purpose is to retain a stressless and less-than-difficult docket with respect to immigration matters and to avoid the adjudication of the very matters with which these persons are charged," the lawsuit alleges.

Burnett's lawsuit claims the work she did "took attorneys out of the process, made the procedure much shorter, simpler, less expensive and in most cases more certain."

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and its local head, Las Vegas attorney Donald Randles, are named in the lawsuit along with seven others.

The seven are immigration judges Irene Weiss, Robert P. Owens, Ronald L. Mullins and Harry Gastley; Immigration and Naturalization Service supervisor Tom Walter; and attorney Wayne Price. The occupation of the last defendant, Arthur Strapp, was not indicated.

The group, the lawsuit alleges, had solicited illegal immigrants to sue Burnett and her business at the time, Amigo Services.

Attorney Eva Garcia-Mendoza, an AILA member, was hired by the defendants "to prosecute their concerns through the use of straw plaintiffs," according to the lawsuit filed through attorney Robert Nersesian.

The goal of the group, the legal action claimed, was to:

In pursuit of those goals, the lawsuit alleges Weiss used her position to intimidate attorneys who worked with Burnett by stating that "any association with Malena Burnett or her businesses would taint the lawyer involved beyond redemption."

"As a result of this intimidation, at least one attorney informed (Burnett) that he was no longer available to represent persons referred by her regardless of the merits of the case," the legal action stated.

The defamation claim alleges statements were made that Burnett practiced law without a license, overcharged clients, was unqualified and would do more harm than good.

Burnett is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the lawsuit that is assigned to District Judge Michael Cherry.

The lawsuit filed against Burnett in January 1998 resulted in an injunction preventing her from disseminating federal immigration forms and taking other actions on behalf of immigrants, although she contends the injunction was illegal.

"As a direct result ... persons who would utilize Burnett's services have turned away in droves," the lawsuit claimed.