You last visited August 20, 2008, 4:52 pm
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Worker accused of stealing winning Oregon lottery ticket
Maryland United States Member #51026 March 8, 2007 84 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 9:47 am - IP Logged |
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 Technically, the ticket was never "lost". It was mislaid (or misplaced). Therefore, under common law principles, the finder of a misplaced object has the duty to turn it over to the owner of the premises (restaurant) on the theory that the true owner is likely to return to that location to search for his/her misplaced item. If the true owner never shows up, the property becomes that of the owner of the premises. Therefore, the waiter/bus boy never had a right to the notebook, nor its' contents.
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New Jersey United States Member #18150 June 28, 2005 10403 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 12:35 pm - IP Logged |
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I remember I once found a wallet with a lot of money in it. I was really poor and needed the funds but I found the driver's license and took the wallet to the address given. Being poor, I had no car so I walked it there. It took me a couple of hours being a rather long distance. I walked up to the door with my integrity intact and the owner of the wallet opened the door. I told him that I found his wallet in the street and I gave it to him. He said, "The money had better all be in there." and closed the door. Having learned a very important lesson, I walked back home. I commend you for your honesty!
Even though the owner of the wallet didn't appreciate your honestly, there are many people in the world that do!
Thanks! A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original dimensions!
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Atlanta United States Member #29025 December 20, 2005 5473 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 2:50 pm - IP Logged |
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I'm with you Raven62, who in their right mind would stop to have a meal before heading to the lottery headquarters. I would have made a quick stop at Micky D's if the kid was hungry!!! OH, if only I was so lucky!!!!!!!!! 
Smart bets...... Equal Phat Pocket$!
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All EYEZ On Me!!! Monroe,Ga United States Member #6501 August 20, 2004 2955 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 3:11 pm - IP Logged |
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The guy probably just looked inside the notebook when he found it, hoping it contained something of value... which it did. I guarantee that ANYBODY finding a notebook on a table like that would look inside -- even if to find out who it belongs to. I agree with those who are thunderstruck by the fact that the winning ticket was placed inside a notebook to start with. People just do dumb things sometimes. The ticket should have been deep within a front pants pocket. If it doesn't fit, fold it. But to stick it in a notebook?   What in tha H-E double hockey sticks possed her to bring the ticket inside,let alone stopping in the first place.  I would have been on one wheel headin to the lottery office to cash my ticket,get my mula an head straight to the bank, Heck I would of made me a sandwhich at home an got something later... You see how money makes people act, Act a D!@ FOOL...
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NY United States Member #24178 October 16, 2005 1311 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 3:22 pm - IP Logged |
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Yes, I agree. As I wrote earlier, what he did is morally wrong. I wouldn't want to leave my wallet somewhere and learn that someone took it. I've found money and other stuff & turned it in. However, a good lawyer could argue that he found the ticket on the floor or outside in the parking lot or in the dumpster. What I was saying is that, knowing he owed back taxes and child support, he lied and asked someone else to accompany him to the Lottery. If I walked into Denny's and found a ticket on the floor and it wasn't signed, I realize that I'd have no idea where it was purchased and they are all tracked. But people have found tickets in FL and claimed them, and the Lottery awarded them the entire prize. I think the key is that he worked at the restaurant and he knew she came back to look for the notebook. She was probably frantic & hysterical. I remember the thread where KY Floyd said (don't want to misquote anyone) something like money is not always a bearer instrument, since a wallet might be stolen or lost and the person finding the wallet doesn't have any right to that money. I guess each individual situation is different and it's up to the lottery and/or the courts. Remember the story about St John, an elderly man who found a ticket in the trash? The original purchaser fought him in court even after the Lottery awarded St John the money, but he didn't lie when he made his claim. I just thought of the movie "Thelma & Louise."  I don't remember the particualr post you do, but I doubt that I would have said that money isn't always a bearer instrument. The point that I have made several times is that people misunderstand what "bearer instrument" means. Some financial instruments are registered to their owner, and some aren't, and whether or not it's registered doesn't change the laws about ownership of property. Cash is a bearer instrument, but if you lose it you still own it. It's just a matter of whether or not you're able to recover it, and how easy it is to recover. Each individual situation will have different details, but they'll all fit into just a few catagories. In the St John case the dispute was over whether the ticket had been lost or mislaid, or if it had been abandoned. This case, at least as the article describes it, is a clear case of property being mislaid, but imagine that the woman had accidentally mixed it in with her dirty napkin. Her argument (like the original owner in the St John case) would be that she hadn't meant to throw it away and thereby abandon her property. Whoever found it would have argued that it had been abandoned and that they therefore had the right to recover it. As One2Adore points out, property that is recovered on private premises generally will be awarded to the owner of those premises.
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United States Member #10921 January 23, 2005 708 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 6:21 pm - IP Logged |
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I sign any winning tickets immediately. Anything that much would go in a locked fireproof gypsum box made by Halliburton, and go directly to ELE7VEN to file a claim!
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Nashville, Tn United States Member #39102 May 3, 2006 226 Posts Offline |
| Posted: January 10, 2008, 9:00 pm - IP Logged |
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that was so dirty of him ......when they asked had he seen the notebook and he said no.... well at least she got her money.  waiting patiently for my jackpot
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