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Dorignac's heirs back to making groceries after lawsuit is settled

Trustees argued that 'Joey' Dorignac did not want his children to have a role in running the store
Credit: Matthew Hinton/The New Orleans Advocate

Members of the Dorignac family are back to making groceries.

A dispute between three trustees running Dorignac’s Food Center in Metairie and members of the namesake family ended Thursday after the trustees agreed to turn over the day-to-day operation of the store to the family members.

Joseph P. Dorignac III put Ronald Dawson, Jr., Kevin Neyrey and Shawn Bridgewater in charge of the management of Dorignac’s upon his death in 2006, according to a news release from Stone Pigman, the law firm that represented the Dorignac grandchildren.

The three trustees agreed to resign their positions as overseers of the Joseph Dorignac III Children’s Trust. Three of the five heirs — Joseph P. "Jody" Dorignac IV, Jason P. Dorignac and Joel P. Dorignac — will be named as the new trustees of the grocery store.

Court records show that all beneficiaries of the trusts, including Joseph Dorignac III's widow, Karen Patenotte Dorignac, have agreed to the heirs' appointment, The New Orleans Advocate reported.

The heirs issued a statement thanking the trustees for their work to continue running the store, which opened in Metairie after it moved from Uptown in 1963.

"They have positioned the iconic grocery store to maintain its competitiveness and have preserved the Dorignac legacy," the heirs said.

The settlement caps a two-year battle that included allegations of financial mismanagement and arguments about the wishes of “Joey” Dorignac III, who consolidated the grocery’s ownership, established the trust and appointed trustees before he died.

The trustees argued that Joey Dorignac did not want his children to have a role in running the store and tried to stop them from participating in the business.

The store was founded in the 1930s by Joseph P. Dorignac, Joey Dorignac's grandfather.

New Orleans Advocate reporter Faimon Roberts III contributed to this report.

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