Homeless son of dead custos fighting for inheritance

Retired fishing vessel captain Jeffery Steadman is now homeless but he is not giving up the fight to ascertain how his father, the late custos of Portland, John Henry Stedman, who died 25 years ago, was allegedly swindled out of 267 acres of prime land in Buff Bay, Portland.

The homeless man is seeking answers as to how his father who, while suffering from dementia, was able to transfer the property to a married couple as a gift.

“I am the only child for my father and I know my father would never have done such a thing because he loved me and cared a lot about me,” he told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

The property is known as the Woodstock Estate, which comprises acres of beachfront and agricultural land. A little less than half of the property is now being advertised for sale as a residential development for US$26 million.

Steadman, who was registered ‘Steadman’ instead of ‘Stedman’ at birth, shared that he feels so embarrassed when residents in Buff Bay question him as to how he ended up being homeless when his father was a wealthy man.

“If I go on the property I am chased away or the police called to remove me,” he disclosed.

“When it is raining I sleep at nights in a section of an unfinished building in Buff Bay that has no windows.”

“So what are you doing about your father’s dead-lef properties?” is one of the questions Steadman, who is now 70 years old, is asked frequently by residents who assist him with meals.

He said he had no alternative but to file a claim in the Supreme Court this year when he learnt about the transfer of the property which was allegedly done when his father did not have the mental capacity to do so.

Steadman is seeking several declarations from the court on the basis that his father’s medical report revealed that he was diagnosed with dementia before the land was transferred.

He is contending in the suit filed on November 17 that his father lacked the requisite mental capacity to transfer all those parcels of land. He further contends that his father’s signature was forged.

The defendants are Gloria Patricia Chin Sang, also known as Gloria Patricia Stedman, and the estate of John Stephen Daly, also known as John Stephen Stedman.

The claimant is alleging that Gloria, a retired attorney-at-law, and John, who were then wife and husband, unduly influenced his father to transfer the property to them.

Acknowledgement of service of the claim was filed in the Supreme Court on November 26 by the law firm Clough Long & Co, which is representing the defendants.

Attorney-at-law Rita Allen-Brown, who is representing Steadman, made an application in the Supreme Court for an interim injunction which was granted on December 10 by Justice Audre Lindo. The injunction bars the defendants, their servants or agents from taking steps to dispossess or interfere with the claimant’s quiet enjoyment and occupation of the property.

The defendants are also restrained from taking steps to sell or transfer the property. The Registrar of Titles is restrained from registering any transaction in relation to the property. The judge ordered that Chin Sang be appointed representative of the estate of John Stephen Stedman for the purposes of the claim. An inter-parties hearing is set for January 7 next year.

Commenting on the court order, the claimant said he was very pleased with the orders and is grateful to his lawyer who agreed to fight his legal battle for him.

AN AFFAIR

In response to the claim, attorney-at-law Maurice Long, who is representing the defendants, described it as frivolous. He said he was now in the process of applying to the court to have the claim thrown out. He disclosed that he has a birth certificate to prove that John Stephen Stedman was the biological child of the late custos and his first wife. He said John died last year and he handled the probate of his estate. He said his clients did not know the claimant.

“Although I go on the property with the court orders and show it to them, I am still being chased away by one of Gloria’s servants. There are more than one houses on the property but to date I am not even given the keys to one of them,” Steadman revealed. He said the house in which he could live was being used for storage.

He also revealed that when he returned home in 2009, he was offered a deal in relation to the property but after refusing it, he was barred from the premises.

Long has, however, refuted Steadman’s claim that his clients offered him a deal and even pointed out that the surname of the late custos was Stedman.

However, Steadman’s attorney claimed that the name difference was irrelevant and that she had evidence to prove that he was the custos’ legitimate child.

Steadman explained that his father was married twice and John was the son of his father’s first wife and his father’s stepson.

“My father had an affair with my mother during his first marriage and I am the child from that affair,” noted Steadman.

He was supported financially by his father, and when his mother migrated to the United States when he was four years old, he said he went to live with his mother’s brother in Portland.

He said his father sent him to study in the US when he was 15 and so he lived with his mother for some time. He and his father kept in touch and he visited Jamaica several times to see him.

Steadman said his father died in 1996. When he visited his father three years before his death, “he asked me to stay but because of my job I was unable to do so”.

The senior citizen, who used to live in Texas and was also a commercial fisherman, described his fishing job as very dangerous, but he confessed that he loved the sea life and loved chasing swordfish. He even went to school to learn to make fibreglass boats and worked with companies in the fishing industry, as well as other jobs.

OLD, LEAKING ICE FACTORY

However, when the time came for him to retire, he said he decided to do so in the land of his birth. On arrival in Jamaica in 2009, the then pastor of the Independent Baptist Church in Buff Bay allowed him to live in a house on the church compound, where he resided until about March this year when the house was demolished.

He was then forced to “board up” an old ice factory building on his father’s property to store his belongings and live there. However, the building leaked heavily when it rained so during those times “I have to seek shelter in a resident’s unfinished building which has no windows”, he said.

John Stephen died some time after he (Steadman) returned home and his widow Gloria, who is an attorney-at-law, has been in full control of the property since then, Steadman revealed.

When Steadman came to Jamaica he was getting his 401K (pension) from one of the companies he worked with in Texas. The cheques were sent to his mother’s address in the US and she lodged them and sent the money to him. He said his mother died several years ago and he is not sure what has happened to those cheques.

Questioned about family members, he said he has a son and daughter living in the US.

“Although I spent 43 years in the States, I am glad to be back here because I can stay here healthy from eating natural foods,” noted Steadman. “I am a very health-conscious person and I cook my own meals.”

He added, “It is only by the grace of God that I am surviving but I am thankful to God and those who assist me.”

Allen-Brown said in relation to Steadman’s case, she was unable to speak in detail about it. She said she was doing investigations and research to provide Steadman with the best legal representation to ensure that he gets what is rightfully his.

In terms of Steadman’s complaints that the court order is not being obeyed, the attorney said she will take further instructions to decide whether to proceed with contempt of court proceedings.

Allen-Brown also promised to see what assistance she can give Steadman for him to start getting his 401K again.

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