A case from Denver tells the story of an incorrect fee to the court, and deportation. After trial, the jury found that there was no proximate cause between a check to the clerk for too little and a deportation order from INS.

Iranian woman loses suit against attorney
An Iranian woman who blamed immigration lawyer Robert G. Heiserman for a mix-up that could result in her deportation has lost her legal malpractice lawsuit against the Denver attorney.

A Denver jury late Friday ruled in favor of Heiserman and against Afarin Kavandi, 23, following a four-day trial in Denver District Court.

Scott Jurdem, Kavandi’s lawyer, had argued that because a paralegal working for Heiserman had sent federal authorities the wrong filing fee – $36 less than required – the government had rejected Kavandi’s application to remain in the United States.

But Craig Fleishman, Heiserman’s lawyer, told the jury there is little chance she will be deported and that Heiserman has done everything he can to convince the government that the $36 filing fee error, which was rectified within days, shouldn’t result in Kavandi’s