I have written, here and here about a lawsuit filed in November 2010 by the City of San Francisco and by former clients of unlicensed attorney Martin Resendez Guajardo. Guajardo was accused of representing and advising clients after he resigned from the State Bar of California. Further, the class action alleged that Guajardo and San Diego-based attorney Christopher Stender, Immigration Practice Group, a law firm owned by Stender, and potentially others committed fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other related causes of action.
Guajardo disappeared and could not be served. Stender was left to fight alone. The fight is over. On December 16, 2013, the cases against Mr. Stender were dismissed, as noted here and here.
It appears that because Guajardo could not be served, the lawsuits were dismissed as required by the California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 583.210 and §583.250. Just why the cases could not go forward against Stender alone is not clear from the docket reports of the cases, here and here.
It is also not clear if Stender will soon be practicing at an immigration court near you soon. He resigned from the Arizona State Bar though appears licensed to practice by New York and Connecticut attorney regulators.
What a great Christmas it must be for Mr. Stender to be free of this long pending litigation. Posted December 22, 2013.