Couple at odds over Powerball lottery prize

Feb 3, 2009, 2:54 pm (33 comments)

Powerball

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — The proceeds from a winning Powerball ticket have split a Sevierville, Tennessee, couple who have two children together and are expecting a third, according to documents filed in Sevier County Circuit Court.

Pamela Jo Newsome has filed a complaint seeking an injunction to keep Mark Saul from spending any of the $200,000 from a winning Powerball ticket purchased in Pigeon Forge.

According to her complaint, Newsome is carrying their third child together, although they have never married. Newsome lives on River Road; Saul lives in the Budget Inn on the Parkway in Sevierville.

Saul was at Newsome's residence the week of Jan. 11, when he said he wanted to go the store, according to Newsome.

"The defendant asked the plaintiff for money, and the plaintiff provided $6 to the defendant. The defendant mentioned buying lottery tickets, and the plaintiff instructed the defendant to buy a two liter drink that the defendant wanted, and to buy Powerball lottery tickets with the remainder," the complaint says.

Saul doesn't have a driver's license, and Newsome said another man who was present at the house drove him to the store, where he saw Saul purchase the tickets.

They couple later learned their ticket matched the first five numbers chosen in the lottery, but not the Powerball number, meaning they fell short of the main prize but won $200,000.

They first went to collect the money together in Knoxville, but were informed at the lottery office there that they would have to go to Nashville.

The next day, Jan 24, Newsome found that Saul had disappeared with the winning ticket, and she could not reach him on his cell phone.

She eventually learned that he had gone to the Nashville lottery office with his brother, who is an attorney, and claimed the proceeds.

She accuses him of theft, fraud, recision of purported contract and other civil claims, and asks that a judge issue an injunction preventing Saul from spending the money. She is asking for a jury to award her all the of the winnings, along with punitive damages and attorney's fees.

The proceeds go to the person in possession of the ticket or the person whose signature it bears, said Kym Gerlock, Tennessee spokesperson for the Multi-State Lottery Association.

"We always encourage our contestants to sign their tickets as soon as they get them," she said.

"[The ticket is] a bare instrument. Anybody that finds it, it's theirs as long as there's no signature on it."

The winner must also provide identification when they bring in the ticket, she said. Powerball will divide the proceeds however the winner asks.

Thanks to amsoly41 for the tip.

Mountain Press

Comments

MaddMike51

"[The ticket is] a bare instrument. Anybody that finds it, it's theirs as long as there's no signature on it."

 

I think she meant to say "The ticket is a bearer instrument",not a bare instrument.I surely wouldn't let anyone put their signature on my bare instrumentWink.

gocart1's avatargocart1

I guess money really can change people....Sad story,but things happen..

ThatScaryChick's avatarThatScaryChick

Quote: Originally posted by gocart1 on Feb 3, 2009

I guess money really can change people....Sad story,but things happen..

It seems like they might not have had a very good relationship to begin with.

Perfecttiming2's avatarPerfecttiming2

Quote: Originally posted by ThatScaryChick on Feb 3, 2009

It seems like they might not have had a very good relationship to begin with.

I agree!!!

ChazzMatt
Looking at it from a strictly legal point of view (not ethical point of view), HE bought the ticket, HE signed the ticket.  She SAYS she gave him the money, but even if true he can repay her the few dollars -- "It was just a loan, your honor.  Here's her $4 after the cost of the Coke."  The guy who drove him to the store has just as much right to claim part of the winnings as she does -- he supplied car and gas.   
 
This guy might owe more child support on the 3 kids (I would get a paternity test), but he doesn't have to give her half the money.  If they were married, yes.  Not married, living in separate residences, no.
 
Plus, he's not going to get $200,000 -- he has to pay taxes on it -- and now legal fees, court costs due to her.
 
One interesting thing is one brother is an attorney, while the other lives at the Budget Inn motel?   Wow, what a difference.
s5thomps's avatars5thomps

I HOPE THAT AT LEAST HE DOES RIGHT BY HIS KIDS! I HAVE A FEELING THIS IS GOING TO TURN UGLY.

Thinking of...

Halle99's avatarHalle99

Quote: Originally posted by s5thomps on Feb 3, 2009

I HOPE THAT AT LEAST HE DOES RIGHT BY HIS KIDS! I HAVE A FEELING THIS IS GOING TO TURN UGLY.

Thinking of...

Agree with stupid Oh my.

Texas Joey's avatarTexas Joey

How dumb can one get???  Not signing the Ticket right away !!!  Duh.....  What would have happened if it had been 10 million!!  I'll bet her children wouldn't see it. Pillow 





dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Quote: Originally posted by ChazzMatt on Feb 3, 2009

Looking at it from a strictly legal point of view (not ethical point of view), HE bought the ticket, HE signed the ticket.  She SAYS she gave him the money, but even if true he can repay her the few dollars -- "It was just a loan, your honor.  Here's her $4 after the cost of the Coke."  The guy who drove him to the store has just as much right to claim part of the winnings as she does -- he supplied car and gas.   
 
This guy might owe more child support on the 3 kids (I would get a paternity test), but he doesn't have to give her half the money.  If they were married, yes.  Not married, living in separate residences, no.
 
Plus, he's not going to get $200,000 -- he has to pay taxes on it -- and now legal fees, court costs due to her.
 
One interesting thing is one brother is an attorney, while the other lives at the Budget Inn motel?   Wow, what a difference.

The attorneys are going to be the winners here. Perhaps a little common sense would help. I believe that he is the legal owner of the ticket. I would sue her for all of the costs associated with any legal action in this situation.

Too many people think that they have the RIGHT to what other people have. A former coworker of mine told me to my face that if he was "down and out", he has the RIGHT to steal from me.

These people seem to live anything but a stable lifestyle. I feel sorry for the children.

OldSchoolPa's avatarOldSchoolPa

Quote: Originally posted by Texas Joey on Feb 4, 2009

How dumb can one get???  Not signing the Ticket right away !!!  Duh.....  What would have happened if it had been 10 million!!  I'll bet her children wouldn't see it. Pillow 





There was nothing dumb about this...it was HE who wanted to buy the lottery tickets, NOT HER.  She may have loaned him the money in order to buy the tickets, but it seems as though she wasn't totally into the lottery thing as she empasized for him to buy the drinks first...and if there is anything left over you can buy the lottery tickets.  Buying the lottery tickets seemed almost like an afterthought to her whereas it was perhaps HIS primary reason for wanting to go to the store in the first place.

It is up to him to do as he pleases with the proceeds.  I think her injunction is baseless since it appears there was not an agreement to share in the winnings even though she did lend him the money to get the tickets.  Sure, since she is the mother of his children (or child), the right thing to do might be to break her off a little something something.  But she really doesn't have any legal right to the winnings.  For instance, if you were to give a street begger a few dollars and just happened to give him/her a business card and that begger used that money to buy lottery tickets and won the jackpot and called you to thank you for giving him money in his darkest hour, you would not be able to claim any part of that begger's winnings because it is not the money that bought the ticket that gives one the claim rights...it's the possession of the winning ticket.  That is why I will never participate in any office or work lottery pools.

OldSchoolPa's avatarOldSchoolPa

Quote: Originally posted by ChazzMatt on Feb 3, 2009

Looking at it from a strictly legal point of view (not ethical point of view), HE bought the ticket, HE signed the ticket.  She SAYS she gave him the money, but even if true he can repay her the few dollars -- "It was just a loan, your honor.  Here's her $4 after the cost of the Coke."  The guy who drove him to the store has just as much right to claim part of the winnings as she does -- he supplied car and gas.   
 
This guy might owe more child support on the 3 kids (I would get a paternity test), but he doesn't have to give her half the money.  If they were married, yes.  Not married, living in separate residences, no.
 
Plus, he's not going to get $200,000 -- he has to pay taxes on it -- and now legal fees, court costs due to her.
 
One interesting thing is one brother is an attorney, while the other lives at the Budget Inn motel?   Wow, what a difference.

There is nothing wrong with living in a motel...Patricia Frierson who won $90M California SuperLotto jackpot years ago was actually living in a motel when she won.

Although I wouldn't want to live exclusively in something like that, many people practically live in hotels for their jobs.  The high end ones are quite nice, but anything less than 3 star hotel is only good for rendevouz of the sordid kind...or if you are single and just want a clean bed, hot shower &  A/C...although the TV entertainment may be dicey.

robmang

It's unfortunate, he shouldn't have run off but legally he's allowed to. But that's one of the reasons I never tell people when I'm buying tickets. I've had everyone from co-workers, bosses, to even my parents tell me "Did you hear the jackpot's getting pretty big, I just picked up some tickets!" and I'll just say "Oh, thats cool, I might pick one up if I got the time" often times I already got one tucked away in my wallet :P Asking for money to buy lotto tickets is a bad idea, if you win you know will be on the hook, whether their argument makes sense or not..If I dont have money I just dont play, I'd rather give some $ to people close to me as a good deed, as opposed to doing it because I feel I owe them.

That guy probably thought "Uh oh, I owe her big-time," felt guilty and took off. Who knows, maybe he owes her money or child support, and figured when all was said and done he wouldn't see a cent of it. Unfortunately, he probably won't now that the court is involved. If he had bought them himself he would probably have been less likely to take off knowing he could share it on his terms.

Set4life's avatarSet4life

They should settle this on the Maury Show, lol.  But i have to agree with the guy, he went in there and brought it, she didnt.  Lets hope he does his job and pay child support lol

PERDUE

Mad

That is some cold S***!!!! If they end up in court the judge should rule that all of the money that is in question be put into a trust for the children to be divided equally between all of them when they turn 21, and neither of the parents can touch it!!! The judge should also rule that both parents should contribute a set amount apiece to the trust so that the kids will have something when they come of age. It's obvious that these parents are only good for bumping-ugly and reproducing. Argue

Maybe old dude thought he could do like that black guy did who won on the lottery a few years ago and tried to pretend to be dead or something and ran out on his wife and she tracked him down and it was tied up in court. When I saw that on the news I laughed for days!!LOL

 

Or the white woman who won and called herself divorcing her husband of 20 plus years then cashing in her winning lottery ticket, only to have the judge take all of her millions and give the whole thing to the ex-husband. That one was 100% pure poetic justice with a swiftness. 

Party

 

The true nature of a person comes out when they receive an amount of money that is larger than their paycheck. Go figure.

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