You last visited November 8, 2009, 12:07 am
|
$8 million lottery dispute grips Spain
International: $8 million lottery dispute grips Spain
Like many factory workers around the world, they dreamed of winning the lottery and retiring early to enjoy their riches. But when the numbers came up for the group of Spanish workmates, joy quickly turned to despair after the one who collected the prize denied that there had ever been a deal to share the money. Now a judge in Barcelona must decide whether Antonio Lloreda Capillo is entitled to keep the €6 million (US$7.7 million) jackpot or must share it with 19 colleagues from the lottery pool at the Sintermetal foundry. His ruling will be closely watched by lottery pools (internationally called "lottery syndicates") across Spain. In common with most work pools, the Sintermetal group had no written agreement and colleagues relied on the goodwill of their workmates to settle the allocation of any lottery winnings. In a country obsessed with gambling, where one in five is a member of a work pool and each person spent on average €205 (US$263) on the lottery last year, the story has gripped Spaniards. The legal dispute began three years ago when Lloreda, whose turn it was to check the numbers, calmly told his workmates he was under no obligation to share the winnings. He would keep the lot, he told them. His colleagues responded by taking out an injunction that has prevented Lloreda from spending any of the money. Lloreda initially won his case at a lower court, but his colleagues in the pool appealed and the case has come to trial in Barcelona. In the meantime, Lloreda has been unable to splash out on a new home, fast cars or luxury holidays. He cannot even afford to leave the foundry and has been obliged to continue working alongside colleagues who, he claims, have made death threats against him and his family. He and his wife, who supports the decision to claim all the money, have been ostracized in their home town of Ripollet, in Catalonia, where he is known as "the Villain". The atmosphere at the foundry is described as tense. Workers routinely hurl insults at Lloreda and sound their car horns when he tries to give television interviews in support of his claim. Blas Landeira Garcia, who organized the pool, told the court that when Lloreda joined the pool six years earlier, he had been informed of the rules. "It worked with a pact of confidence that if we won a prize, it would be shared. Lloreda formed part of the group," he said. But Lloreda, who sat just a meter from his colleagues in court, told the judges, "I didn't form part of the group. I made an individual agreement with another person with whom I changed my coupon."
Lottery Post Staff
We'd love to see your comments here! Register for a FREE membership — it takes just a few moments — and you'll be able to post comments here and on any of our forums.
If you're already a member, you can Log In to post a comment.
17 comments. Last comment 3 years ago by .
United States Member #12856 March 18, 2005 2060 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 25, 2006, 8:53 pm - IP Logged |
|
The guy can't be shocked that his colleagues would be upset by this. It seems that he was involved in a lottery pool and when he won decided he wanted the money to himself. He seems very selfish. If he wanted to keep all the money for himself he should have not played in a pool in the first place.
|
|
|
|
United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
11297 Posts
Offline
|
| Posted: May 26, 2006, 9:50 am - IP Logged |
|
I wish the keyboards at my library had the cool Euro symbol. There has to be a way for me to use it.
|
|
|
Chief Bottle Washer New Jersey United States Member #1 May 31, 2000 16998 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 26, 2006, 9:59 am - IP Logged |
|
I wish the keyboards at my library had the cool Euro symbol. There has to be a way for me to use it. You can insert any symbol using the "Insert Symbol" button on the toolbar: 
|
|
|
|
United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
11297 Posts
Offline
|
| Posted: May 26, 2006, 10:02 am - IP Logged |
|
|
|
|
North Brunswick NJ United States Member #39431 May 8, 2006 5344 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 26, 2006, 4:53 pm - IP Logged |
|
bellyache, i totally agree with you.
|
|
|
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 10510 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 26, 2006, 5:08 pm - IP Logged |
|
I wish the keyboards at my library had the cool Euro symbol. There has to be a way for me to use it. You can insert any symbol using the "Insert Symbol" button on the toolbar: That's nice to know. I've been hitting the ALT key and typing the ASCII code of the symbol. For example to enter ¢ I held down the ALT key and typed 155. * What happens most *
* will most likely happen again *
|
|
|
United States Member #15415 May 10, 2005 317 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 28, 2006, 1:00 pm - IP Logged |
|
I wish the keyboards at my library had the cool Euro symbol. There has to be a way for me to use it. You can insert any symbol using the "Insert Symbol" button on the toolbar: That's nice to know. I've been hitting the ALT key and typing the ASCII code of the symbol. For example to enter ¢ I held down the ALT key and typed 155. Must not be up-to-date on my browser. I don't have an insert symbol button and I looked at the character map for the font I use and it has no Euro symbol. It really doesn't bother me much though as I have no need for it.
|
|
|
United States Member #15415 May 10, 2005 317 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 28, 2006, 1:02 pm - IP Logged |
|
I wish the keyboards at my library had the cool Euro symbol. There has to be a way for me to use it. You can insert any symbol using the "Insert Symbol" button on the toolbar: That's nice to know. I've been hitting the ALT key and typing the ASCII code of the symbol. For example to enter ¢ I held down the ALT key and typed 155. Must not be up-to-date on my browser. I don't have an insert symbol button and I looked at the character map for the font I use and it has no Euro symbol. It really doesn't bother me much though as I have no need for it. Doh! The insert symbol button here! €
|
|
|
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 10510 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 1:29 pm - IP Logged |
|
When I used the Mozilla Firefox browser, it acts different than the Internet Explorer's browser and won't paste from NotePad. Maybe your browser doesn't support everything in the tool bar. * What happens most *
* will most likely happen again *
|
|
|
Wandering Aimlessly United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4379 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 2:11 pm - IP Logged |
|
I might be misunderstanding this, but I thought Todd was referring to the LP toolbar, not the one on our individual browsers. I'm going to see if it works for me. It's the symbpl next to the smiley face. €6 million, 20¢...yup, worked for me. Thanks, Todd. ----------------- Regarding the topic, it sounds as if this man is being very dishonest and immoral, but maybe he really wasn't part of the pool at work. I've been in situations where I asked some people if they wanted to partake in a project and nobody was interested. Then when it worked out well for me, everyone wanted to take credit for my work. I know this is very different from winning the lottery, but since there was no written agreement, we don't know if it's just sour grapes on their behalf or he's really a thief. Blas Landeira Garcia, who organized the pool, told the court that when Lloreda joined the pool six years earlier, he had been informed of the rules. In 2000 my boss & I always agreed to share if one of us won, but I haven't seen him or worked for that company in 4 years. I definitely have no plans to give him anything if I ever win! A written agreement would be more clear and state what will happen if a person leaves or drops out of the group, etc. This article doesn't say whether or not they collected money or pitched in every week, just that they all had an understanding as coworkers. So it's not 100% black & white to me, except that I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Even if the court rules in his favor, he'll get the life beat out of him someday. Maybe the only reason he's still alive and walking around is that his family will inherit the money and it would be harder to sue a grieving widow!
|
|
|
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 10510 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 3:16 pm - IP Logged |
|
Blas Landeira Garcia, who organized the pool, told the court that when Lloreda joined the pool six years earlier, he had been informed of the rules. "It worked with a pact of confidence that if we won a prize, it would be shared. Lloreda formed part of the group," he said. This sounds like an agreement that's unique to their culture. I can't imagine any American agreeing for the rest of his life to share anything he won in any lottery with a group of co-workers and I doubt if any court would hold him to such a stupid agreement if it wasn't in writing. Even then all the co-workers would have to prove they had continued to buy lottery tickets during those years with the understanding that the agreement was still active. * What happens most *
* will most likely happen again *
|
|
|
Wandering Aimlessly United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4379 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 3:49 pm - IP Logged |
|
Speaking of lottery promises, there is a man who works near the market I frequent (or just likes to hang out there..it's a weird parking lot) who always tells me he'll "take care of me" should he win the lottery. I never tell him I'll share my win, especially since I don't even know him. One day I asked "How will you find me? You don't know my name!" I couldn't figure out if he was flirting or just being a nice guy. However, no matter what his true intentions might be, there is absolutely no proof that he's serious about giving me money, so I would feel no obligation whatsoever to share if I won a jackpot. On the other hand, this guy has promised to give me enough money to buy a home and live comfortably. He's said this in front of a few people, but I also don't know them either. So if I saw his picture in the paper, would I have a chance of collecting? Probably never. This is why I don't even like to kid around about these things. It's like when a cashier asks "Will you split it with me?" and I always answer "Sorry, no." I might get a strange glance, but at least I'm being truthful. I hear people saying "I'll give you a million if I win tonight" and I wonder what would really happen if they hit the jackpot. Maybe I take this stuff too seriously. But after reading all these articles, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
|
|
|
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 10510 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 5:48 pm - IP Logged |
|
From watching TV court shows, I understand that in order for a contract to be enforceable it must be beneficial for all competence parties concerned, there's no such thing as a contract without benefits or considerations. If you're not offering any benefits or considerations then it's like a gift or charitable donation which is unenforceable. (Considerations could be no more than just picking some lucky numbers for him to play) * What happens most *
* will most likely happen again *
|
|
|
Wandering Aimlessly United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4379 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 29, 2006, 7:04 pm - IP Logged |
|
If you're referring to my post, RJOh, then I am definitely not offering him anything! LOL However, I was just changing my sheets and pulled a muscle in my back (they'll just have to hang..I'm not lifting that darn mattress again) and I'm thinking "Is this as good as it gets?" As much as I try to walk the straight & narrow, I sometimes think about what W.C. Fields said: "It is morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money." 
|
|
|
|