Attorneys have 10 days to submit orders in legal battle before Gleeson

St. Clair County Associate Judge Andrew Gleeson on Oct. 13 gave attorneys 10 days to submit proposed orders before ruling in a legal battle over a $10.5 million settlement between former Belleville law partners Edward Brennan and Mike Constance.

A contentious bench trial before Gleeson lasted six weeks. The case closed on Oct. 13.

Constance sued Brennan in April 2010 on claims that Constance did not receive a fair share of a settlement reached with former tennis star Jimmy Connors in November 2009. Their former firm Brennan, Cates & Constance of Belleville began representing Connors in 1991 on various matters including Connors' relationship with the proposed Alton Belle Casino.

According to Constance's complaint, Brennan, Cates & Constance, which dissolved in 1998, reached an agreement with Connors in 1992 in which Connors agreed to pay the partners 20 percent of the money he received in the Alton Belle and Argosy venture.

Among other things, Constance wants the court to assign a constructive trust to the settlement reached with Connors and that the court require Brennan to render an accounting and pay Constance's fair share of the settlement. Constance also seeks fees, costs and punitive damages.

Brennan denied the claims and filed counter claims against Constance.