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Judge tosses wife's Lotto suit -- for now
Florida Lottery: Judge tosses wife's Lotto suit -- for now
A Miami-Dade judge on Thursday said the wife of a lottery winner cannot go forward with a lawsuit against her spouse until she proves the money should belong to her. "She has no identifiable legal rights at this time," Circuit Judge Jennifer D. Bailey said. "Where does the law say you automatically have a right to participate in the proceeds?" Bailey temporarily dismissed the lawsuit Donna Campbell filed against her husband, Arnim Ramdass, an American Airlines mechanic who hit a $19 million Florida Lotto jackpot last summer with 16 of his co-workers. Campbell and her attorneys have 20 days to amend their complaint. They must show why Campbell should have a claim to her husband's lottery winnings. They will try to prove that the money Ramdass used to buy the lottery ticket came from his work salary, which is considered a marital asset. "It appears that once we do that, we can go forward and get a trial date and proceed with vindicating Ms. Campbell's rights," attorney Bruce Baldwin said after Thursday's hearing. Campbell, 48, a former model and beauty queen, says her husband of three years tried to keep his good fortune a secret from her when he hit the lottery last summer. She claims he disconnected the phone line and kept her from watching TV so she wouldn't find out he was a winner. Ramdass, 52, and the other winners took a lump-sum payment of $10.2 million, which worked out to $600,000 per player before taxes. When Campbell found out about the money — she Googled her husband's name and found a Florida Lottery press release about the jackpot — she confronted Ramdass. He told her he bought the winning ticket for his daughter from a previous marriage who lives in Orlando, but Campbell believes that was a ploy to defraud her of the money. "The facts of this case are not complicated," Bailey said in court, speaking to Campbell's attorneys. "Those folks out at the airport pooled money to buy lottery tickets. One hit — bless 'em — and your allegation is that Mr. Ramdass, in an effort to ice out Ms. Campbell, transferred his ticket to his daughter." The judge suggested that divorce court might be a better venue to resolve the dispute. "I'm not sure she has the ability in this court — civil court — to stop her husband from disposing of the lottery money," Bailey said. But Campbell has maintained that she wants to sue her husband for fraud first and divorce him afterward. She said she feels abandoned by someone who promised to be with her through good times and bad. Ramdass, who for months eluded process servers and has not responded to interview requests, did not attend the hearing. "I'm not surprised," Campbell said. 
Arnim Ramdass and Donna Campbell eat wedding cake while they celebrate their marriage in 2005.
Miami Herald
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12 comments. Last comment 2 years ago by .
MI United States Member #55299 August 31, 2007 818 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 17, 2008, 7:29 pm - IP Logged |
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That wedding photo is creepy, yet hilarious at the same time...
Should have had a prenup... With odds like 1 in 175,711,536 how can I lose?!
You can't predict random.
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United States Member #4963 May 30, 2004 2826 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 17, 2008, 7:33 pm - IP Logged |
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???? where is the LUV?
Why? do people think $$
all the DARN>>>>>>>>>>>>>TIME $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?????????
LOL
PSYKOMO
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United States Member #4194 March 23, 2004 720 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 17, 2008, 10:35 pm - IP Logged |
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Pennsylvania United States Member #17377 June 10, 2005 1535 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 17, 2008, 11:07 pm - IP Logged |
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For better or worse, she is about to get the worse case of reality check . Interesting to see how her lawyers will dazzle the system in favor of her allegations. ________________________________
The most powerful statements are said with few words.
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Idaho United States Member #56982 November 21, 2007 3398 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 1:21 am - IP Logged |
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I wonder if she will be able to prove that she should have a share of the money. It should be interesting to see what happens. "No one remembers the person who almost climbed the mountain, only the person who eventually gets to the top."
ThatScaryChick
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Holt MI United States Member #2283 September 4, 2003 54 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 9:48 am - IP Logged |
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LOL! That picture should be titled Little Richard mates with Amorosa, a merger made in ............
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Bayonne United States Member #61629 May 13, 2008 129 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 10:56 am - IP Logged |
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1) I don't know of couples feeding each other the wedding cake with the KNIFE!!
2) why didn't he claim his part anonymously?
3) I note that he is stingy [insert DUH here] but dayummm! he could have merely said he won a couple of thousands dollars and bought her something nice along with dinner, she would have been good ..
4) He should pay her half for his stupidity! what kind of man disconnects the phone [girls + phone = lifeline] and turned off the t.v.!? what about all those Bravo shows she missed? screw you Arnim RamdASS
5) I hope she files for divorce, leaves him everything and goes on to win a million dollar lotto!
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United States Member #392 June 8, 2002 4995 Posts Online |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 12:30 pm - IP Logged |
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LOL! That picture should be titled Little Richard mates with Amorosa, a merger made in ............ Good one, LOL
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Wandering Aimlessly United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4381 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 12:37 pm - IP Logged |
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Sanda Dee writes: "Why didn't he claim his part anonymously?
Actually, he did everything possible in the State of Florida from what I can see. It's never been clear if he had already filed for divorce before he won, so I am surprised by the judge's ruling. IMO the lawsuit could possibly end up costing nearly as much as the prize. So I agree that he should have paid her off, but apparently there is a lot of animosity between them. I'm not sure what the lawyers will get paid, but 1/3 of the amount is customary if they took the case on contingency.
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United States Member #5437 June 30, 2004 21799 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 18, 2008, 2:01 pm - IP Logged |
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My Question
Why would she want to have anything to do with this person?
I would divorce him and move on.
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United States
Member #59651
March 8, 2008
174 Posts
Offline
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| Posted: May 22, 2008, 3:09 pm - IP Logged |
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My Question
Why would she want to have anything to do with this person?
I would divorce him and move on. You've statement have proven over and over you are not a greedy person. That puts you 180 degrees out of phase from a large percentage of the population.
Most of the population want anything and everything free; because they deserve it. A chance comes along and they grab for the shiney brass ring. If not that, they want free medicine, they want free medical care for themselves, they want a paycheck every week for sitting around and existing, they want gasoline to be cheap, but will scream and holler if oil is pumped from some place thousands of miles away and they will never see it. They want oil company's to lower their prices, but refuse to let them build a new refinery/ They want cheap cars, but want thousands of safety features on them. Our forfathers may have wasted their time and effort. We would have been so much better off under the royaly of England!
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United States Member #5437 June 30, 2004 21799 Posts Offline |
| Posted: May 30, 2008, 11:26 am - IP Logged |
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Most of the population want anything and everything free; because they deserve it. A chance comes along and they grab for the shiney brass ring. If not that, they want free medicine, they want free medical care for themselves, they want a paycheck every week for sitting around and existing, they want gasoline to be cheap, but will scream and holler if oil is pumped from some place thousands of miles away and they will never see it. They want oil company's to lower their prices, but refuse to let them build a new refinery/ They want cheap cars, but want thousands of safety features on them. Our forfathers may have wasted their time and effort. We would have been so much better off under the royaly of England
So funny you mentioned this. It is so true. We run a used auto sales lot. I had a couple come in yesterday. She was apparently doped up.
She wanted a car with very little down, low weekly payments, (for she didn't have a job) , good running, and a gas saver.
Well "who" wouldn't. I bit my tongue carried her out to lot. Showed her two I could do for $600 down. She shook her head... NO... I have to have a radio.
Then she couldn't believe I wouldn't take the same $600 down on a 2004 caddie. Her reactions: "Geeh, I need a car, you have 50, how selfish if you won't let a better one go for $600 with all that you have." My reaction, (in my thoughts) Geeh, why should I get up and come to work each day while you drive around in better car than most working people. I already work so you can eat.
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