Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Court to Cynthia Stewart: deadbeat

Local criminal defense lawyer and former Ed Peters protege Cynthia Stewart has to pay former landlord Bridge Properties $35,263 after she reneged on her lease. Ms. Stewart signed a three-year lease in 2003 for office space on N. President Street. She rented office space to Cynthia Speetjeens and Judson Lee. Ms. Stewart didn't pay the lease in July 2005 and was two months behind on the rent of $1,700 a month. Tyson Bridge changed the locks in July. The delinquent rent was paid on July 22 and a key to Mr. Lee.

Ms. Stewart vacated the premises without sending any notice to Mr. Bridge of her intent to terminate the lease. Demand letters were sent to Ms. Stewart reminding her the lease was active and she was responsible for the unpaid remainder of the rent. He sued Ms. Stewart in Hinds County Court and won a judgment against the attorney.

Ms. Stewart appealed to Hinds County Circuit Court and lost. She then appealed to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. She raised every issue possible. The air conditioning didn't work. The building was uninhabitable. The landlord and his wife had fights on the property. Homeless people terrorized them. Nothing worked and the landlord wouldn't cooperate on anything. The Court said bull and that Ms. Stewart could not provide any evidence to support her claims. The Court affirmed the lower court ruling and ordered her to pay Bridge Properties the unpaid rent and other fees. The opinion is posted below and will be entertaining reading for some.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

well, i read it and cynthia stewart seemed less than honest, but not cynthia speetjins or the other atty.

Anonymous said...

Did C. Stewart represent Robbie Bell as well?

ON a different note: wonder if Melton ever paid Stewart for representing him...

Anonymous said...

if i got to know tyson bridge as my landlord I'd be looking for a way out too...

Anonymous said...

tyson bridge is a schmuck

Anonymous said...

This is typical of the bottom dwelling MS attorneys. Or incompetent ones by reading of the post.

Post it. Post it. Post it.

I take great pride knowing that the profession is alive and well in this town; and willing to do the right thing when necessary.

I pray for an awakening of those who have profited for some many years in this state to take on the same type of philanthropy that is being touted in the news lately.

Anonymous said...

You've made a misleading post. Why am I not suprised? First, Speetjeens was the Peters protege, she worked for him as an ADA. Stewart just represented him and apparently did a great job as he is home, smiling, and free; albeit a bit poorer for paying some of the money back. Second, that office was allowed to become a real craphole and there was a reasonable dispute over those issues. Landlord/tenant disputes are pretty common and don't reflect whether someone cheerfully pays their just debts.

Whassa matter KF, Cynthia taller that you or something?

Kingfish said...

Ms. Stewart had property 101 in law school and knew that if she was going to break leases, she better inform the landlord in writing. She also knew to document or complain in writing to the landlord about any problems. You mean to tell me one of the top defense lawyers in town didn't know how to do that? You can throw all the stones you want at me, doesn't change what the court said. You're no different than the Steadivest people who come on here insulting me but oddly enough, ignore the case itself.

As for protege, there was a little gang Peters put together while D.A. : Mayfield, Stewart, Speetjeens, and Royals.

Anonymous said...

I don't know much about the lease issue, but I was in the building once and it was not an "A" place by any means.I will ad that if you can find two nicer folks than Cynthia Speetjens and Jud Lee, I want to meet them.

Anonymous said...

KF, we are all fully aware that you attended law school. So, we know that you had property "101".

congratulations on that.

However, real life application of LT issues are somewhat more complex. I don't know any of these people, but i imagine there are some underlying issues regarding the condition of the property that the tenant will argue breached the terms of the lease.

Do you know if she failed to put him on notice? Are you positive there are no letters?

you know, there's a big difference between having been to law school and having actually practiced in the field for a while. Texts and hornbooks don't have much to do with the actual application.

Anonymous said...

I've been to law school and practiced law but I know more from watching People's Court that a landlord has the duty to mitigate damages, i.e. try and rent the space to someone else. The size of the award makes me wonder whether the landlord mitigated his damages. There's nothing in the opinion about it. Was the space so bad no one else would rent it?

Anonymous said...

If yall would read the opinion many of your questions would be answered. KF read it, I can tell because I read it also.

I'm not a lawyer but I play one on blogs.

Kingfish said...

Its pretty clear who didn't read the opinion.

Anonymous said...

Who represented Tyson Bridge? I need a good attorney!

Anonymous said...

KF is an ignorant, can't practice law, couldn't pass a bar exam, short man complex puss that loves to take shots at real, working attorneys.

Come on into the real arena little man....

Anonymous said...

8:56- Are you drunk? KF isn't short- not at all. Obviously you haven't met him! I think he is doing a lot more interesting things with his legal education than most of the practicing lawyers I know. He's certainly not stressed out about billing hours. He has time to have coffee in the middle of the day, with his trusty dog at his side, with whomever he chooses. Now that is freedom.

Anonymous said...

8:56's attitude is typical of too many attorneys in Mississippi and this nation.

8:56 is obviously dealing with an acute case of small penis syndrome.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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