Lindsay Described in Lawsuit as Senile : Councilman: He lacked the mental capacity to know that his girlfriend deceptively gained control of his property, stepson’s legal action claims.

The stepson of Los Angeles City Councilman Gilbert Lindsay asserted in a lawsuit Monday that the aging councilman is senile and lacked the mental capacity to comprehend that his girlfriend deceived him over the last two years, systematically stripping him of nearly all of his property.

Lindsay, 90, placed “great trust and confidence” in Juanda Chauncie, 39, his “girlfriend, lover, dependent and confidante,” the lawsuit claimed.

But Chauncie manipulated Lindsay’s “failing health, old age and senility” to coerce him into signing over his property, including several pieces of real estate and at least $65,000 from a bank account, the lawsuit alleged.

To obtain the property and cash, Chauncie “would threaten to terminate their relationship unless (Lindsay) would say that his property belonged to her,” according to the allegations.

Chauncie’s lawyer, John Clark Brown Jr., said he had no comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.

A man who answered the telephone at Chauncie’s home said she was out of town.

Lindsay has been hospitalized since Sept. 2 when he suffered a stroke that rendered him partially paralyzed and unable to speak.

His condition has left his 9th District without representation on the council, a situation that has frustrated community leaders and has generated a controversy over whether it is legally possible to remove and replace him.

Cameron Liss, an attorney for Herbert Howard, the stepson, said Monday that the contention of senility was based largely on information supplied by people who have been close to Lindsay in recent years.

While council members had noted apparent lapses in Lindsay’s attention in recent years, the lawsuit Monday brought the first public assertion that he suffers from senility.

Even so, there appears to be no authority in the City Charter for the council to remove him from office. The Charter allows the council to remove a member only for conviction of a felony, insanity or for remaining outside the city for more than 60 days without the consent of the council.

Voters could remove Lindsay with a recall petition, but there is no such move afoot in his district. And resignation is not an option, officials have said, because Lindsay apparently lacks the mental capacity to resign.

The lawsuit filed Monday paints a picture of “an aged gentleman in failing health,” an isolated and confused old man. Throughout his two-year relationship with Chauncie, the suit claims, Lindsay “suffered great mental anguish, fear, nervousness, anxiety, grief, shock, humiliation and apprehension.”

Howard, who last week was appointed temporary conservator of Lindsay’s estate, also alleges in the suit that Chauncie, her sister, Ann Stevens; her mother, Alberta Hysaw; and a friend, Ellis Smith, engaged in a conspiracy to defraud Lindsay of his property. Attempts to reach the three for comment were unsuccessful.

Howard is attempting to recover the property and cash as well as to prevent Chauncie from evicting an elderly disabled couple from a house they have rented from Lindsay for two decades.

“The most important contention is that he was tricked, deceived and defrauded into conveying his property to her,” said Dion-Cherie Raymond, another attorney who is handling the case.

Over the course of his relationship with Chauncie, Lindsay “may have had moments where he went in and out of lucidity,” Raymond said, but he lacked the ability to keep track of his possessions.

Chauncie “gained a grossly oppressive and unfair advantage” over Lindsay, the lawsuit says, in order to obtain five parcels of real estate as well as at least $65,000 from a bank account. Chauncie’s name was listed jointly with Lindsay’s on bank accounts as well as a safe deposit box, according to the lawsuit. The total value of the real estate has not been calculated.

The lawsuit does not describe the roles of Chauncie’s relatives and friend in the alleged conspiracy, except to say that they engaged in acts of “fraud, undue influence, coercion and manipulation” to obtain and sell his property.

Lawyers for Howard said Monday that Chauncie used Lindsay’s cash and profits from the sale of some of his property to purchase a hilltop home with a swimming pool in Baldwin Hills Estates, where she now lives.