CNN reports that a lawsuit over a lottery ticket has settled out of court. On one side is the family of Kevin Donovan who claimed to have purchased every “Hold ‘em Poker” scratch off lottery ticket in the store and then accidentally threw the winning $1 million ticket in the trash at the store. Donovan died of a heart attack some time after the lottery commission ruled against him. On the other side is Edward St. John, 83, who lives in subsidized housing and regularly searches the garbage discarded winning lottery tickets. Even though the lottery commission had ruled in his favor, they could not pay him while the issue was in court. He agreed to give 86% the $1,000,000 to the family because he was worried that he would die before the case was settled.
To me, this looks like extortion. The law concerning lost lottery tickets is pretty clear. If you are in possession of the ticket, then you get the money. There are some complexities here, but if the facts in the article are true, then the old man is entitled to 100% of the money under the law. The family is using the court system to browbeat him into giving up some money, and that is deplorable.
Let’s look at this from different angles. If Donovan were alive, then this suit would make a little more sense. Donovan would argue that the money was his and that he wanted to enjoy it. But, Donovan is dead and it is his estate that is arguing they deserve to enjoy the money. This is a very minor point, but the estate did not purchase the tickets and, I think, has less of a moral claim to the money.
Now compare the two parties. On the one hand, St. John is worried that the $7000 per year he will get from the lottery winnings will mean that he has to move out of his government housing. Donovan purchased all of the scratch off tickets in the store! Either he (and his estate) is flush with money or Donovan was a compulsive gambler. I think St. John is more sympathetic here.
Now look at the actions of the parties. At 83 years old, St. John routinely digs through garbage to try to make a few extra dollars. Donovan was careless enough with a $1 million lottery ticket that he threw it away. Donovan’s family is willing to tie up the litigation in court long enough to kill an old man rather than defer to the judgment of the lottery commission, while St. John is willing to give up 86% of the money just to resolve the dispute. Again, St. John looks much better.
From a legal perspective, I wonder if St. John can accept his 14% share under the settlement and then immediately turn around and sue for the rest of the money based on extortion. On the one hand, the court might say that he negotiated the settlement in bad faith. On the other hand, good faith dealing is not always a requirement for a valid contract.
In any case, if the facts presented here are accurate, Donovan’s family should be ashamed.
