Lawyers await Gleeson ruling following trial over Connors' settlement

Belleville attorneys Edward Brennan and Michael Constance still await a ruling by St. Clair County Associate Judge Andrew Gleeson following a six-week bench trial involving a dispute over a $10.5 million settlement.

Counsel for the attorneys submitted proposed orders Oct. 25, and the judge may have an order by the end of next week, said Susan Brem, deputy clerk in St. Clair County Courthouse.

The case closed 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.