Two lawsuits filed in January by the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation against Amigo Enterprises Inc., a company partially owned by St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens, has been settled out of court. The plaintiffs, which also include the successions of Arlene and Joseph Meraux, requested dismissal of the suit Friday "on the ground that all claims asserted...
Two lawsuits filed in January by the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation against Amigo Enterprises Inc., a company partially owned by St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens, has been settled out of court.
Joseph Meraux and Arlene Soper in Christmas 1990. Two years later, Joseph Meraux died, leaving behind a will giving his entire estate to Soper.The plaintiffs, which also include the successions of Arlene and Joseph Meraux, requested dismissal of the suit Friday "on the ground that all claims asserted therein have been settled, as per agreement."
The dismissal was granted the same day by 34th Judicial District Court Judge Kirk Vaughn.
The multimillion-dollar non-profit Meraux Foundation had accused Amigo of not paying the foundation its share of the $5.5 million that Amigo got from renting marina space in Hopedale to BP during the Gulf of Mexico oil-spill cleanup in the summer of 2010.
Stephens resigned from the five-person board in September.
The Meraux Foundation oversees one of the single largest collections of real estate holdings in St. Bernard, prime properties throughout downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, and numerous other businesses connected to the estate, a vast fortune estimated at $50 million to $250 million.
Amigo has a long-term lease with the foundation for the waterfront marina property in the eastern part of the parish. Amigo is supposed to pay $1,500 per month to the foundation, with inflation adjustments every five years since 1996. That would put the figure to about $2,000 per month.
In addition to the rent, the lease states that Amigo is supposed to pay 10 percent of all gross income from any subleases or contracts to the foundation.
Stephens has a one-third interest in Amigo, along with his cousin and former chief deputy, Tony Fernandez Jr., and another associate, John Despeaux.
In the summer of 2010, Amigo was renting marina space in Hopedale to BP for $1.1 million per month since the beginning of the spill, the oil company previously acknowledged.
Rita Gue, the president of the Meraux Foundation and Arlene Meraux's niece, complained at that time that Amigo was not paying the stipulated 10 percent of its gross income from BP to the charity, as outlined in a lease agreement
Stephens has said in the past that his Amigo Enterprises contract was originally with Joseph Meraux, Arlene Meraux's longtime companion, which predated both the foundation and his being elected sheriff in 1983.
Joseph Meraux inherited large swaths of undeveloped land that had been in the name of his father, legendary St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Louis A. "Doc" Meraux. When Joseph Meraux died, the land went to Arlene Soper, his longtime companion, who changed her name to Arlene Meraux soon after.
Her will stated that her entire multimillion-dollar fortune should go to a private foundation to "improve the quality of life and standard of living of the residents of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana."