Dorignac's grocery at center of family lawsuit
Dorignac's on Veterans Boulevard in 2014. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
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on October 26, 2016 at 7:55 AM, updated October 27, 2016 at 9:27 AM
The descendants of Dorignac's grocery founder Joseph P. Dorignac have been forced out of the legendary Metairie business by three people appointed to oversee the family's trust funds, according to a lawsuit filed in Jefferson Parish.
The trustees -- lawyer Shawn Bridgewater-Normand and accountants Ronald Dawson and Kevin Neyrey -- have wrested control of Dorignac's grocery and are paying themselves as managers and bookkeepers, essentially overthrowing the Dorignac heirs from their great-grandfather's business, according to the family's lawsuit filed in July.
Joseph P. Dorignac III, known as "Joey," put the grocery business into trusts for his four sons and wife and selected the trustees before he died Nov. 6, 2006.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesman for the trustees said the lawsuit is based on "false, unfounded and unsubstantiated claims" and they will "continue to work diligently to fulfill their obligations" as required under the trusts.
Dorignac's has operated near the foot of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie since 1963, relocating from an Uptown location that opened in the 1940s. The store has maintained a loyal following for its local flair and offerings.
Four generations into the family business, Joseph P. Dorignac IV, Jason P. Dorignac, Jon Paul Dorignac and Joel Peter Dorignac are asking a judge to intervene and remove from power the trustees controlling the store. The four brothers are beneficiaries of two trusts that collectively own the business, Dorignac's Food Center LLC.
"While the Dorignacs have the utmost confidence in the employees of Dorignac's Food Center and the quality of their work, they can no longer allow the trustees to run the business in secrecy and will pursue all legal paths to ensure that their family's business is being run properly -- now and into the future," Matthew Almon, attorney for the brothers, said in a statement.
Stuart Feigley, spokesman for the trustees, said the trustees "are working with the court to ensure accurate fulfillment of their duties as dictated by trust documents and Louisiana law" and "are confident that this legal issue will be addressed by the court in a timely manner and lead to a positive resolution."
Neyrey is managing partner and Dawson is partner in the accounting firm Eriksen Krentel and LaPorte. Bridgewater-Normand is an attorney with Chaffe McCall and the wife of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand. The trustees are also managers of Dorignac's Food Center LLC.
Ownership in the grocery is divided 80 percent in the Joseph P. Dorignac III Children's Trust and 20 percent in the Karen Pattenotte Dorignac Trust. Joey Dorignac's four sons and wife are beneficiaries of the trusts.
The trustees -- lawyer Shawn Bridgewater-Normand and accountants Ronald Dawson and Kevin Neyrey -- have wrested control of Dorignac's grocery and are paying themselves as managers and bookkeepers, essentially overthrowing the Dorignac heirs from their great-grandfather's business, according to the family's lawsuit filed in July.
Joseph P. Dorignac III, known as "Joey," put the grocery business into trusts for his four sons and wife and selected the trustees before he died Nov. 6, 2006.
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesman for the trustees said the lawsuit is based on "false, unfounded and unsubstantiated claims" and they will "continue to work diligently to fulfill their obligations" as required under the trusts.
Dorignac's has operated near the foot of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie since 1963, relocating from an Uptown location that opened in the 1940s. The store has maintained a loyal following for its local flair and offerings.
Four generations into the family business, Joseph P. Dorignac IV, Jason P. Dorignac, Jon Paul Dorignac and Joel Peter Dorignac are asking a judge to intervene and remove from power the trustees controlling the store. The four brothers are beneficiaries of two trusts that collectively own the business, Dorignac's Food Center LLC.
"While the Dorignacs have the utmost confidence in the employees of Dorignac's Food Center and the quality of their work, they can no longer allow the trustees to run the business in secrecy and will pursue all legal paths to ensure that their family's business is being run properly -- now and into the future," Matthew Almon, attorney for the brothers, said in a statement.
Stuart Feigley, spokesman for the trustees, said the trustees "are working with the court to ensure accurate fulfillment of their duties as dictated by trust documents and Louisiana law" and "are confident that this legal issue will be addressed by the court in a timely manner and lead to a positive resolution."
Neyrey is managing partner and Dawson is partner in the accounting firm Eriksen Krentel and LaPorte. Bridgewater-Normand is an attorney with Chaffe McCall and the wife of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand. The trustees are also managers of Dorignac's Food Center LLC.
Ownership in the grocery is divided 80 percent in the Joseph P. Dorignac III Children's Trust and 20 percent in the Karen Pattenotte Dorignac Trust. Joey Dorignac's four sons and wife are beneficiaries of the trusts.
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