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LOUISIANA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Widow sues financial companies for late husband's retirement benefits

Retirement

NEW ORLEANS – A widow is demanding retirement benefits from Scottrade and Voya Financial, alleging that her late husband removed her from his retirement plan without her consent.

Donna Forte Callegari filed a lawsuit on March 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Scottrade Inc., Voya Financial and Jim S. Jordan, independent executor of the succession of Arthur Jerome Callegari, citing violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

According to the complaint, Donna Forte Callegari is the surviving spouse and beneficiary of Arthur Callegari, specifically regarding individual and group retirement accounts held by the defendants. The plaintiff claims that, shortly before his death, her husband unilaterally changed the beneficiary designation without her consent and fraudulently modified his marital status on each retirement account in question.

After Arthur Callegari’s death in July 2015, the plaintiff allegedly filed a petition of intervention on Sept. 30, 2015, reporting that she had been removed as beneficiary without her consent. Subsequently, subpoenas were issued to the defendants, allegedly revealing that the plaintiff was fraudulently removed and that no petition for divorce had ever been filed.

The plaintiff avers that the defendants have refused to provide her with account information and have denied benefits in violation of her ERISA rights.

Callegari seeks benefits under the retirement plan, attorney fees, costs and penalties. She is represented by Zachary J. Delerno and Ronald W. Morrison of Morrison & Morrison PLC in Metairie.

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-01750-CJB-JCW

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