Zeeks’ 88-y-o mom warns of fierce fight for house

Leonie Cummings, the 88-year-old mother of incarcerated Kingston don Donald ‘Zeeks’ Phipps, has vowed to fight for the Havendale property she co-owns with him and which is at the centre of a court battle with Esther Yvonne Sailsman, a babymother of the former Matthews Lane strongman.

In an interview with The Gleaner from the United States, where she resides, Cummings expressed shock at the legal wrangle over the 14 Highland Close home.

“I don’t understand how she could be seeking ownership of my house. I own the property with my son. I have been paying taxes on the property every year except 2021. And I am coming down shortly to make my payments,” said Cummings.

“I have been trying for years to get her out of the house. I have used four lawyers to get her out. I am not missing. What is going on is foolishness.”

Sailsman has taken steps to secure ownership of the property via adverse possession, claiming she has had undisturbed control of the property for more than 12 years.

But Cummings said her stay at the house should have been temporary until a 2 Crane Way home, also in Havendale, which was purchased for her, was repaired. That home is in the name of Michaelius Phipps, Donald’s son.

“He (Zeeks) brought her there to stay for a short while her house at Crane Way was under repair. The children were younger and were going to school, and since it was near to their school, that’s why they stayed there. But he also bought a house for her so I should be undisturbed,” Cummings explained.

In her affidavit in the Supreme Court, Sailsman outlined that she had knowledge of the property since 1985 when Phipps, her then spouse and co-owner of the property with Cummings, exercised sole, undisturbed, and continuous possession of the property. She asserted that in 1995, she and Phipps, along with their children, moved into the property. Phipps was detained in 2005.

Sailsman said that she remained on the property until about 2006 when Cummings asked her to leave, and she did so for about three to four months. However, having no other residence, Sailsman returned to the property later in 2006 and claimed to have “remained in sole, undisturbed possession of the property for over 12 years”.

She could not be reached for comment.

‘Tenants’ in house

Cummings said her house is occupied by tenants.

“Now I hear that tenants are in my house. I didn’t rent my house to anyone. On one of my of my visits here, I went there and the gate was locked. At the time, I didn’t even see anyone there that I could ask them to get in. You lock me out of a property my son gave me and you gone to claim adverse possession. Go to your house and leave me alone!” Cummings said, challenging Sailsman to produce a title or tax payments for the property.

A copy of the title seen by The Gleaner shows Donald Phipps and Cummings as the registered owners of the property since April 1985.

“She is not the only babymother Zekel have. She is one of 10. So every babymother has a claim on the property? Plus, the children are all adults now, so she does not need to be living in my place anymore, and she needs to leave it,” Cummings insisted.

Cummings’ son, Victor Cummings, acknowledged that his mother has been trying for years to get access to the property. He said he has steered clear of the matter as he has neither locus standi nor interest in the matter.

Sailsman was served a notice in December 2019 to quit the premises and was not present in court in September 2020. A default judgment was entered against her and she applied to the parish court to have the default judgment set aside, stating that the notice of the claim did not come to her attention until October 30, 2020.

Her appeal challenged the jurisdiction of the parish court judge to rule on the matters since the annual value of the property exceeded $500,000, and she had a reasonable chance of successfully defending the claim that she was the legal owner of the property.

The parish judge handed down her decision in January 2021 and refused to set aside the default judgment.

However, Sailsman challenged the parish judge’s decision, and the Court of Appeal ruled last month that the default judgment be set aside.

Phipps was convicted in 2006 for a year-earlier double murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment on each count. He was ordered to serve 30 years before he could be eligible for parole. He lost his appeals to the Court of Appeal and the United Kingdom Privy Council.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com