FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 06 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ADONAY REMBERTO ORTIZ, No. 06-74882
Petitioner, Agency No. A090-137-988
v.
MEMORANDUM *
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted December 14, 2010 **
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Adonay Remberto Ortiz, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for
review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal
from an immigration judge’s decision denying his motion to reopen removal
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
proceedings conducted in absentia. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252.
Ghahremani v. Gonzales, 498 F.3d 993, 999 (9th Cir. 2007) (court has jurisdiction
over mixed question of law and fact, as long as the relevant underlying facts are
not disputed). We review for abuse of discretion the denial of a motion to reopen.
Lo v. Ashcroft, 341 F.3d 934, 937 (9th Cir. 2003). We grant the petition for
review and remand.
The BIA abused its discretion in denying Ortiz’s motion for failure to
comply with the requirements of Matter of Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637 (BIA
1988), where it is undisputed that Ortiz’s attorneys’ staff told him that he need not
appear at the January 19, 2006, hearing and where Ortiz explained why he did not
file a disciplinary complaint against his attorneys. See Lo, 341 F.3d at 937-38
(strict compliance not required where it is undisputed that attorney’s office staff
told petitioner the wrong hearing date, where petitioner explained absence of bar
complaint, and where Lozada’s policy goals to discourage baseless claims and
collusion were met).
We therefore grant the petition for review and remand to the BIA for further
proceedings consistent with this disposition.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
2 06-74882