A verbal Lottery joke agreement wouldn't hold up in Court, would it?Prev Topic Next Topic

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Lotto fanatic

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Oct 7, 2023, 11:49 am

So, there was an article about what NOT to do if you win the Lottery or will win the Lottery. One of the tips was something like,"Never "joke," about giving someone a cut of your winnings if you win the Lottery because they could sue you for your winnings if you do. For example, never "jokingly,"say to your to your Friend,"Tom, if I ever win The Powerball 1.5 Billion Jackpot, I'll give you $20 Million, but I'm sure I'll never win it, it's a 1 in a 1.5 Billion chance. Tom and you both laugh, but if you do win the Powerball 1.5 Million Jackpot, Tom could sue you for the $20 Million you "Jokingly," told him you would give him if you win the 1.5 Billion Powerball."

I don't think this would hold up in Court because it was a verbal joke agreement, not a written and signed agreement. If you and your Friend were joking around and you wrote the joke agreement on sheets of paper, and both signed as a joke, that would be a completely different story and couldn't hold up in court. But not a joke verbal agreement between two Friends.
hearsetrax

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Oct 7, 2023, 12:06 pm

the only jokes and promises I make are thar choice of a junkie old Cadillac or Lincoln with no guarantees that it runs LOL

straight from the local bone yard
Brock Lee

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Oct 7, 2023, 12:35 pm

how did you get photos of my house?
Artist77

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Oct 7, 2023, 1:43 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Lotto fanatic on Oct 7, 2023
So, there was an article about what NOT to do if you win the Lottery or will win the Lottery. One of the tips was something like,"Never "joke," about giving someone a cut of your winnings if you win the Lottery because they could sue you for your winnings if you do. For example, never "jokingly,"say to your to your Friend,"Tom, if I ever win The Powerball 1.5 Billion Jackpot, I'll give you $20 Million, but I'm sure I'll never win it, it's a 1 in a 1.5 Billion chance. Tom and you both laugh, but if you do win the Powerball 1.5 Million Jackpot, Tom could sue you for the $20 Million you "Jokingly," told him you would give him if you win the 1.5 Billion Powerball."

I don't think this would hold up in Court because it was a verbal joke agreement, not a written and signed agreement. If you and your Friend were joking around and you wrote the joke agreement on sheets of paper, and both signed as a joke, that would be a completely different story and couldn't hold up in court. But not a joke verbal agreement between two Friends.

You know you can Google the topic? Difficult to prove but there have been cases where verbal agreements were upheld. There was a case in Florida where a guy promised his then gf a share of his winnings.

If you are running your mouth about sharing winnings, that is your poor judgment. But facts can vary such as fronting money for a ticket purchase.

Lottery Fanatic is always concerned about someone taking her yet to be won jackpot. Didn't LF ask this same question a while back?
Brock Lee

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Oct 7, 2023, 3:24 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Oct 7, 2023
You know you can Google the topic? Difficult to prove but there have been cases where verbal agreements were upheld. There was a case in Florida where a guy promised his then gf a share of his winnings.

If you are running your mouth about sharing winnings, that is your poor judgment. But facts can vary such as fronting money for a ticket purchase.

Lottery Fanatic is always concerned about someone taking her yet to be won jackpot. Didn't LF ask this same question a while back?

imaginary money beats imaginary friends. my imaginary friend is always making fun of me. yesterday he said, "at least i have one real friend."
Artist77

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Oct 7, 2023, 4:26 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Brock Lee on Oct 7, 2023
imaginary money beats imaginary friends. my imaginary friend is always making fun of me. yesterday he said, "at least i have one real friend."

I always forget about the unspecified but amazing imaginary friends on LP. These "friends" have the secret formula to winning jackpots or the business strategy to make one the next Jeff Bezos. I just have an occasional brunch with my friends and we split the bill. Perhaps I need to upgrade to more exciting imaginary friends.
garyo1954

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Oct 7, 2023, 5:34 pm

If you both tell the court there was agreement, laughingly or not, the court will likely uphold that agreement.

Even if you are laughing, and they laugh too, there was an oral understanding, an offer tendered without conditions and acknowledged. In most states that would be an oral contract.

G

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Dreaming would be a perfectly useless function if it's only purpose was to entertain.
KY Floyd

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Oct 7, 2023, 10:55 pm

"Tom, if I ever win The Powerball 1.5 Billion Jackpot, I'll give you $20 Million, but I'm sure I'll never win it, "

Sounds like a verbal contract that specifies your obligations if you win, even if it's unlikely that you'll win.
Lotto fanatic

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Oct 8, 2023, 3:16 am

Quote: Originally posted by garyo1954 on Oct 7, 2023
If you both tell the court there was agreement, laughingly or not, the court will likely uphold that agreement.

Even if you are laughing, and they laugh too, there was an oral understanding, an offer tendered without conditions and acknowledged. In most states that would be an oral contract.

G

But couldn't the person who made the joke be like,"I was just JOKING when I told Tom I'd give him the $20 Million! I didn't think I would ACTUALLY win!"
Artist77

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Oct 8, 2023, 8:04 am

Tasha, you are going down the rabbit hole again. Your question was answered. After the fact is not relevant. It actually adds credence to the facts that there was an actual agreement and the winner got greedy and did not want to share after a win.
db101

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Oct 8, 2023, 11:15 am

Quote: Originally posted by Artist77 on Oct 8, 2023
Tasha, you are going down the rabbit hole again. Your question was answered. After the fact is not relevant. It actually adds credence to the facts that there was an actual agreement and the winner got greedy and did not want to share after a win.

What if the person you told the "joke" to was a time traveling Axl Rose?
Artist77

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Oct 8, 2023, 11:24 am

Quote: Originally posted by db101 on Oct 8, 2023
What if the person you told the "joke" to was a time traveling Axl Rose?

In that case. Axl Rose would have known Tasha was about to win the jp. Then he could take her back in time so she can correct in writing that she does not intend to share the jp with anyone.

Then after she collects her $, they shack up in Malibu. But after a while, he tires of her catfishing other celebrities. He sues for Palimony and ends up with most of her remaining money. She moves back to Miami and writes a book about Axl and starts dating Tommy Lee from Motley Crew. She then cheats on Tommy Lee with Pit Bull.
garyo1954

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Oct 8, 2023, 12:22 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Lotto fanatic on Oct 8, 2023
But couldn't the person who made the joke be like,"I was just JOKING when I told Tom I'd give him the $20 Million! I didn't think I would ACTUALLY win!"

If it gets to court its not a joke. Think about that. Nobody is going to file a lawsuit and go to court claiming it was all a joke.

You can claim it was a joke all you want, but what did the other party think?

If you find yourself in court he/she is not going to tell the judge, "yeah, we were just joking."

G

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Dreaming would be a perfectly useless function if it's only purpose was to entertain.
rcbbuckeye

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Oct 8, 2023, 1:08 pm

Trying to figure out why anyone, joking or not, would promise someone, friend or not, that "if I win I'll give you a cut, or half, or any money".

I don't even tell my kids that. They know I'll help them if needed. But otherwise, they'll get all of my money when I die.

CAN'T WIN IF YOU'RE NOT IN

A DOLLAR AND A DREAM (OR $2)
garyo1954

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Oct 8, 2023, 6:03 pm

Quote: Originally posted by rcbbuckeye on Oct 8, 2023
Trying to figure out why anyone, joking or not, would promise someone, friend or not, that "if I win I'll give you a cut, or half, or any money".

I don't even tell my kids that. They know I'll help them if needed. But otherwise, they'll get all of my money when I die.

Used to happen a lot in messages here. People would promise to pay if you helped them won or told them how to win. Probably the same people begging in this thread.

G

I'm probably here unless I'm not.
Dreaming would be a perfectly useless function if it's only purpose was to entertain.