The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear an appeal in the long-running battle for ownership of an aging Swiss Avenue mansion, once the crumbling centerpiece of former model Mary Ellen Bendtsen's fantasy world.
But 4949 Swiss Ave. remains the focal point of ongoing legal battles - including state felony charges of attempted theft against three men.
Mrs. Bendtsen's daughter and her attorneys on Friday said they hope the Supreme Court's refusal will be the impetus for closure in a sweeping saga that began long before Mrs. Bendtsen signed a controversial deathbed will.
The court's refusal effectively upholds previous court decisions that declared Mrs. Bendtsen's daughter the rightful heir and rejected a bid to block the home's sale. A Dallas probate court previously rejected a will that left Mrs. Bendtsen's stake in the house to Deep Ellum antique dealers Mark McCay and Justin Burgess, whom she befriended late in life.
Frances Ann Giron, Mrs. Bendtsen's daughter, said Friday that the Supreme Court's refusal hadn't sunk in yet. And she called the legal drama that has ensued since her mother's 2005 death "unmitigated hell."
"I haven't had an opportunity to grieve my mother in three years," she said.
In the 2005 probate court case, attorneys for Mrs. Giron contended that the antique dealers used undue influence to estrange Mrs. Bendtsen from her only daughter and then persuaded the 86-year-old to sign the will in a hospital emergency room just after she suffered a massive stroke.
Weeks before she signed the will, Mrs. Bendtsen had been diagnosed as too mentally impaired to make legal decisions.
"This appeal took a particularly long time because there were numerous requests for extensions of time throughout the process that in my opinion were designed just to delay," said Mike Northrup, an attorney for Mrs. Giron.
Mr. McCay and Mr. Burgess did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday. They were indicted in February 2006 on attempted theft charges along with Edwin C. Olsen IV, one of their attorneys. The three men are accused of attempting to steal Mrs. Bendtsen's interest in the home. Mr. Olsen could not be reached for comment Friday.
All three have denied any wrongdoing.
The status of the criminal cases was unclear Friday. Court files were not available, and court employees were released from work early because of the Labor Day weekend.
Attorney Larry Finstrom represented Mr. Olsen in the criminal case until three or four months ago, when he filed a motion to withdraw from the case so that Mr. Olsen could represent himself, Mr. Finstrom said Friday.
"The last action we took was that the case would be stayed pending the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling," Mr. Finstrom said. "I assume that will start back up now."
Mr. McCay and Mr. Burgess initiated a libel lawsuit against entities including Mrs. Giron, The Dallas Morning News and a reporter from The News who chronicled Mrs. Bendtsen's saga in a 2006 series of articles.
Mrs. Giron filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the men and Baylor University Medical Center. Those civil cases are pending in courts.
Officials in the Dallas County district attorney's office have said that they had a surge in new elder-crimes referrals since The News' series. Concerns raised by the case prompted discussions among prosecutors, court officials and area elder-law experts about the need for a full-time elder-crimes prosecutor in Dallas County.
Mrs. Giron said she hopes the court's refusal to hear the appeal jump-starts the pending criminal cases.
"It will be over when my mom's house is sold and legally something happens to them for what they've done to me and my family," she said.
For years, there's been a buyer interested in purchasing 4949 Swiss.
"We try, but they would not give us an appropriate title as long as the appeal has been pending," said Mark Cronenwett, one of Mrs. Giron's attorneys.
Mr. McCay and Mr. Burgess could ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. But Mr. Cronenwett said if they do not - or if they do but don't get a different outcome - the home will likely sell.
"It can only stand so much, and it's sad," Mrs. Giron said of the home that started decaying long before her mother died. "That house needs a family. It needs kids. It needs life."
Staff writer Tiara M. Ellis contributed to this report.
