Insider Buzz: Man wins share of ex's lotto prize
A Newfoundland man has won a legal battle with his former live-in lover for half of what's left of a $700,000 lottery prize.
A Newfoundland judge ruled this week that Susan Devereaux, who bought the winning ticket when she was engaged to James Everard in 1999, owes him half the remaining money.
"There was clear evidence of a common intention to share the funds," Justice Alphonsus Faour said in his ruling.
Lawyer Owen Myers, who represented Everard, said Faour's ruling is what they had hoped for.
"He's very happy it's turned out this way. He's been through 2 1/2 years of this kind of torture," Myers said.
In his decision, the judge noted the couple's relationship continued to grow, and the following year they moved in together. But the good fortune didn't last. Within two years, the relationship ended and they had spent a significant portion of the money.
The amount left from the $700,000 prize wasn't revealed.