Didn’t Seek Gifts or Cash From Lindsay, Ex-Girlfriend Says : Trial: The late councilman’s stepson and his estate have brought suit seeking the return of property and money.

The former girlfriend of City Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay, accused of bilking the 90-year-old man out of much of his property, testified Tuesday that she never sought gifts or money from the late councilman and that on at least one occasion she tried to pay him back.

Jaunda Chauncie, 40, said Lindsay, whom she called Poppy, paid for trips to Las Vegas, fur coats and expensive jewelry. But the relationship involved no sex.

The testimony came at a trial stemming from a lawsuit brought by Lindsay’s stepson and estate. Chauncie, who operated a clothing boutique out of her home, said Lindsay once picked up a $2,050 tab that she incurred at a fashion show. But when she tried to repay him “he wouldn’t take my money,” Chauncie said.

Lindsay, a city councilman for 27 years, died in December, 1990. His stepson, Herbert A. Howard, accuses Chauncie, her sister and mother of manipulating Lindsay--who was suffering from “failing health, old age and senility”--into gutting his estimated $400,000 estate. Howard is seeking the return of two properties that Lindsay turned over to Chauncie, proceeds from the sale of two other lots and “money taken by fraud,” according to attorney Carl Douglas.

But Geraldine Green, Chauncie’s lawyer, said there was no fraud, just a “lonely man” who voluntarily lavished attention and affection on a woman who “spent time with him and made him happy.”

“This trial is nothing more than an attempt to circumvent and reverse what he (Lindsay) did when he was alive,” Green said.

Dressed in a high-collared dress, wearing glasses and with her hair pulled back in a bun, Chauncie testified that she met Lindsay at a black women’s achievement awards banquet in 1988 at the Century Plaza Hotel. He approached her and asked for her phone number, she testified.

“I didn’t know who he was,” she said, adding that the councilman gave her his card and declared, “I’m Gilbert W. Lindsay of the great 9th District, and don’t you forget it.”

The pair had dinner a day later, she said, and were soon inseparable. Under questioning by Douglas, Chauncie said Lindsay’s gifts included three fur coats, about $7,000 worth of jewelry and clothing purchased on a trip to Las Vegas, and a three-carat diamond engagement ring. During a trip to San Francisco without Lindsay, Chauncie said, she bought a diamond necklace and bracelet and charged the $5,300 bill on Lindsay’s credit card because she “had access to his credit card at that time.”

Chauncie, said Lindsay proposed to her in December, 1988, but never settled on a marriage date. She also testified that during their two-year relationship, the two had no sexual intercourse, nor did Lindsay see her unclothed. She did not allow him to kiss her on the mouth, she said, but added, “He snuck and did it anyway.”

Chauncie said Lindsay may have paid many of her bills, such as a $698 monthly lease payment on her Cadillac, but she maintained that she never asked for such help. Lindsay was bossy, Chauncie said. “He would come to my house. . . . He would take up all my mail and put it in his pocket.”

Chauncie, who sold her house in Inglewood and bought one in Baldwin Hills after the relationship blossomed, claimed the financial aid was of no great benefit. “I could afford to pay my own bills,” she said.

Chauncie, who operated the boutique out of her home before she met Lindsay, advertised by occasional flyers, newsletters or “word of mouth,” she testified. Under questioning, she had trouble recalling how many garments she had for sale or how much they cost.