Tom Benson's request for expedited appeal over trust denied

A panel of judges denied Tom Benson's request for an expedited appeal of a lower court's ruling that's temporarily ousted the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner as steward of a trust established to benefit his estranged daughter, Renee.

Tom Benson's lawyers cited the nearly $20,000 being charged daily by the two men appointed to take over the decision-making responsibilities of the trust and the judge's failure to consider other remedies as reasons to speed up the process In a motion filed to Texas's Fourth Court of Appeals on Monday.

The request was denied without explanation, though the appeals judges said they would look unfavorably on any requests for additional time to file briefs.

"Any such motion must provide evidence of extraordinary circumstances justifying the extension," the order said, according to Ramon Antonio Vargas of the New Orleans Advocate.

"The panel assigned to author the opinion in this appeal will determine whether oral argument will be heard and, if so, will set a date for oral argument after (Renee Benson's) brief has been filed."

The trust is part of a dispute between father and daughter. Renee and her children were cut out of future dealings with any of her father's assets - including the Saints and Pelicans - in January, with Tom announcing his third wife, Gayle, would be his successor. Renee then asked Texas courts to freeze the assets in a trust her late mother, Shirley, set up for her (Shirley died in 1980).

"The trust includes shares in Bensco Inc., which owns several car dealerships, a 97 percent interest in Lone Star Capital Bank, approximately $5 million in cash, and real estate properties in Louisiana and Texas," Vargas wrote.

Renee and her children have filed a lawsuit in New Orleans civil court seeking to have him declared mentally unfit to make business decisions. Three physicians were chosen Wednesday to conduct a mental evaluation of the 87-year-old Benson.