ON August 31, 2016, Super Lawyers announced the selection of Roman P. Mosqueda to the 2017 Southern California Super Lawyers list. Because Mr. Mosqueda has demonstrated excellence in the practice of law, he is receiving an honor that is limited to no more than five percent of the attorneys within California. Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys…

THE American Institute of Family Law Attorneys (AIOFLA) has selected for membership, as one of the 10 Best Attorneys in California for Client Satisfaction, Los Angeles Fil-Am Attorney Roman P. Mosqueda for 2016. The American Institute was created in 2014 as an impartial third-party attorney rating and invitation only legal organization recognizing excellence of practitioners…

ON January 5, 2016, the Lawyers of Distinction announced the selection of Los Angeles attorney, Roman P. Mosqueda, as top 10% of attorneys in the United States. Members are accepted based upon objective evaluation of an  attorney’s qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history. Please see its website www.lawyersofdistincion.com for further details concerning membership qualification….

ON December 16, 2015, a female Australian lawful permanent resident was allowed to take her oath of allegiance and granted U.S. citizenship. Previously, by Decision dated June 25, 2015, her application for naturalization was denied by USCIS, after appearing for an interview on her eligibility thereon on February 11, 2015. The denial was based on…

RAFAEL Edward “Ted” Cruz, the Republican Junior Senator from Texas, was born on December 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Rafael Cruz, Sr., originally from Cuba, and Eleanor Darragh, who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. It is reported that Ted Cruz was born a citizen of Canada under the Canadian Citizen Act of…

THIS constitutional issue is before the Philippine Supreme Court for final decision  on petitions for certiorari filed by Grace Poe from the COMELEC’s en banc decision. Article VII, Section 2 of the Philippine 1987 Constitution states the 10-year residence requirement as follows:  “No person may be elected President or Vice-President unless he is … a…

BY Resolution issued on December 1, 2015, the Second Division of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled that Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares is not a resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding the May 9, 2016 elections, as required by Article VII, Section 2 of the Philippines 1987…

BY Approval Notice dated October 30, 2015, the USCIS granted Form I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver to a Filipino crewman, who is married to a US citizen spouse. Roman P. Mosqueda, a Super Lawyer in Southern California for 2014, 2015, and 2016 in business immigration, filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, of the US…

ON February 27, 2015, the Hon. Keith Schwartz, Presiding Judge of Department 144 at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse, sentenced a Filipina to 3-year summary probation with suspension of imposition of sentence with 6 days credit, 45 days of community service, payment of restitution, plus fines and assessments. She pled “no contest” to violation of…

IT’S after 6pm, a dark evening in Los Angeles. The only street parking available on a curb is marked red. You park there. After two hours, you return to your car and you see a parking violation ticket. The fine for parking on a red zone is violation of Section 80.56E of the Municipal Code…

ON October7, 2014, at Avenal State Prison, a panel of Commissioners of the CA Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to a Filipino lifer, who has been an inmate in the California Department of Corrections since April 24 1992. The panel was composed of Presiding Commissioner Marisela Montes and Deputy Commissioner Pat Cassidy.  The Board…

ON October 7, 2014, at Avenal State Prison, a panel of Commissioners of the CA Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to a Filipino lifer, who has been an inmate in the California Department of Corrections since April 24, 1992. The panel was composed of Presiding Commissioner Marisela Montes and Deputy Commissioner Pat Cassidy.  The…

ON July 8, 2014, the Hon. Brian C. Yep, presiding Judge of Department A-10 of the Lancaster Superior Court, ruled that premises liability in Plaintiff’s second amended complaint is included in the general negligence cause of action and sustained the demurrer thereon of the defendant-licensee of a residential facility for elderly/dependent adult. The Author represents…

A WHITE Caucasian US Marine Corps veteran was granted disability pension benefits with Aid and Attendance effective February 1, 2014, by Rating Decision dated April 28, 2014, of the Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Paul, MN Pension Management Center. He is a veteran of the Vietnam Era, who served in the Marine Corps from September…

UNDER Section 1031 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. §1031, the exchange of properties used for investment or trade or business, but not for personal use, may defer the recognition of capital gains or losses due upon sale, and defer payment of capital gains taxes otherwise due. Like-kind properties It should be…

BY RATING Decision dated January 8, 2014 (mailed March 13, 2014), the US Department of Veterans Affairs, through its Pension Management Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, granted a Marine Corps Veteran during the Korean Conflict Era, aid and attendance monthly pension of $1,715.00 starting December 1, 2013. Indeed, the Author filed Marine Corps Veterans claim…

REPUBLIC Act No. 10175, known as the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is caught in a time warp. Its provisions on cybercrime offenses in Chapter 11 are copied from current cybercrime laws of the United States (United States Code), but its provisions on online libel (Section 4(c)(4) and Section 6) date back to 1932,…

THE District Attorney’s Office of the County of Los Angeles, through its Bureau of Investigation, had late last year conducted worker’s compensation compliance checks in Carson, California. Investigators interviewed employees of businesses who failed to secure workers’ compensation insurance for their employees in violation of Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code. The interviews were…

ARE you involved in a vehicular accident in which the “at fault” other driver is uninsured, or is unidentified as in a hit-and-run collision, or does not have enough insurance coverage? If so, you have an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim under California tort law based on fault, if you have uninsured motorist (U.M.) coverage…

ON December 17, 2013, the Hon. Mark C. Kim, Presiding Judge of Department 20 of the Long Beach Superior Court, ordered that the felony conviction of a Filipino client of the Author under Penal Code Section 475 for forgery on July 28, 1998, be reduced to a misdemeanor, under Penal Code Section 17(b)(3). The Author…

BY News Release on November 15, 2013, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the US Department of Homeland Security reminded “Filipino nationals that they may be eligible for certain immigration relief measures if requested.” But the reminder refers only to Filipino nationals impacted by Typhoon Haiyan (named “Yolanda” by Philippine authorities) because “USCIS…

“ A person born in the United States with one parent or with both parent(s) no longer Philippine citizen(s) at time of birth is not a Philippine citizen at birth.” UNDER the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of…

VETERANS who once served on active duty at time  of war, need not be in combat, in the United States Army, Marine Corp, Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard, or in the Merchant Marine during World War II, may be eligible for non-service connected, tax-free aid and attendance pension from the US Department of Veterans…

ESTATE planning for sophisticated individuals with significant net worth should consider using family business entities, primarily for income, gift, and estate tax planning, and even tax saving through valuation discounts and asset protection. Indeed, under the American Tax-prayer Relief Act of 2013 (ATRA), the 2013 exemption for each of the estate, gift, and generation skipping…

A JUDGMENT creditor in California obtains a final money judgment from a California court (state or federal) against a Philippine company or Philippine resident, and seeks recognition and enforcement of the foreign judgment in the Philippine court. A petition to recognize and enforce the California (state or federal) court’s judgment is filed with the Philippine…

LOS Angeles Immigration Judge Gita Vahid-Tehrani terminated the removal proceedings of a retired, 78-year old Filipino businessman at the hearing on August 22, 2013, by granting his motion to terminate such proceedings filed on October 4, 2012. This Author represents the Filipino respondent, who was placed in removal proceedings by the issuance and service of…

On July 8, 2013, Commissioner Dennis W. Carroll of Department 8 of the Long Beach Superior Court sentenced a Filipino client, who pled “no-contest” to first driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offense, to: suspended sentence, 3-year summary probation, 3-month, 30-hour alcohol AB-541 program, 10 days of CalTrans community service, and total fine of $2,000 plus. The Author represents…

BY Order of Discharge of Debtor dated April 1, 2013, the US Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, in Los Angeles, discharged a consultant of a freight forwarder from the wage and defamation claims of an alleged employee. The Author represented the freight forwarding company and the consultant in both the civil suit and the…

ON June 10, 2013, Commissioner Martin R. Gladstein of Department 2 of the Valencia, California Court, ordered restitution payment as in a civil judgment, pursuant to Penal Code Section 1202.4(i). This Author currently represents the white Caucasian defendant, who pled “no contest” to a violation of Section 243(d) of the Penal Code for assault with…

A FILIPINA registered nurse licensed  in California, her husband, and minor son are in removal proceedings with the Los Angeles Immigration Court ( I.J. Philip J. Costa) because their applications for adjustment of status to permanent residence were denied, despite approval of the underlying employer’s Form I-140 immigrant visa petition for her. The ground for…