LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas judge on Thursday ordered a new trial to decide who can claim a $1 million scratch-off lottery ticket prize, a little more than three weeks after he ruled that a woman who said she bought the ticket but mistakenly discarded it was entitled to the money.
White County Circuit Judge Thomas Hughes ruled May 1 that Sharon Duncan should get the prize money, not two other women involved in the case. Hughes ordered the new trial in a one-paragraph ruling that did not elaborate on his reasoning.
"After reviewing the actions of counsel appearing in this case, the court file and the record, this court, as authorized by the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, orders a new trial to be held on all claims in this case," Hughes said in the order. A call to Hughes' office was not immediately returned.
Duncan said she purchased the "Diamond Dazzler" ticket at a convenience store in Beebe, about 35 miles northeast of Little Rock. She said the store's electronic scanner indicated she was not a winner, so she discarded the ticket. Sharon Jones, another customer at the store, subsequently picked up the ticket and claimed the winnings for herself.
Winston Collier, Jones' attorney, said he was confused about the judge's reason for ordering a new trial but pleased with the result. Collier said he had planned on requesting a new trial on Friday.
"We're fighting curiosity," Collier said about the ruling. "We're tempering it with our elation that our client has no longer lost a million dollars. We feel really good about our chances moving forward."
Duncan said she discarded the ticket after an electronic scanner told her it was not a winner. The state's Lottery Commission has defended the machine and says its equipment functions properly. The store's manager and owner sued Jones, claiming she illegally took the ticket from the bin. Duncan joined the lawsuit after the judge determined she may be the true owner of the ticket.
I think both of these people would be better off if they privately agreed to split the prize money. By the time all these lawsuits and appeals are finished, there will be no prize left to award, because the lawyers will have it all.
Funny thing Todd, before reading your comment I was thinking exactly the same thing. Half a million, even after taxes, not really chump change.
At this juncture, I wonder If that is even an option?
Greed seems to be the common thread for why these lawsuits cannot be amicably settled.
I was thinking the same thing!
I had a feeling that the judges decision would be overturned but it came as a surprise that the original judge overturned his own decision.He must have got a lot of flack from the public on his original decision.
I agree. It would probably have been overturned on appeal (which lower court judges do not want to happen) so the judge "modified" his/her decision. I am sure the finder will get a share...maybe 1/3 or as much as 1/2.
Still not a bad days pay for a "trash picker".
I agree!
They must know by now that 1m isn't that much money in the larger scheme of things and with court fees, legal fees, darn just the gas alone going back and forth to court and the lawyers' offices will wipe them both out.
Greed is a serious cancer.
yep.
It would have been a bigger payday if the trash picker had kept
her mouth shut. That's the big lesson of this case. If you find a winner
be quiet, walk away, take it home and jump up and down and
scream there...and then wait a couple months to break the chain of
events and have memories and timelines fade. It may be hard
to contain yourself, but being sued out of your million
dollar ticket is a little harder, wouldn't you say?
I'm sure she has relived that scenario hundreds of times over in her dreams. Loose lips, sink ships.
"Duncan said she discarded the ticket after an electronic scanner told her it was not a winner. The state's Lottery Commission has defended the machine and says its equipment functions properly."
If the machine was working properly, Duncan didn't have the winning ticket and maybe why the judge ordered a new trial. Unless Duncan bought the only ticket sold in that store, she can't prove the ticket Jones found was hers. Duncan should have know if the ticket was a winner by looking at the ticket. It's a simple game; match one of your 8 number with one of 20 game numbers and win the prize listed below the number.
It looks like after the store owner and manager sued Jones for taking the ticket from their trash, Duncan decided to claim the discarded ticket was hers.
I think they have video footage of her buying the ticket. Or something. But I agree, especially if they didn't scan the ticket at time of purchase. I see clerks do this sometimes ... I buy it and they don't scan it they just hand it over.
I'm still perplexed the judge can just up and decide to re trial. I didn't think that was legal?
i would love to know how much money will be left when things are finished.
They'd probably be money ahead if the ruling stands and they did that but I still hope the lady who pulled it out of the garbage keeps it all.
They're just going on the other lady's word that it was her ticket and the scanner malfunctioned. They can't connect her with it with any evidence whatsoever outside of her word. Anybody could've made the same claim.
And I gotta feeling that's what's gonna happen - the picker's gonna get it all.
Good idea, i'd like to add that you should buy 5 or 10 tix of the same game,
so that you actually played the game, and thats where the winner came from,
not the trashcan.
Judges can reverse themselves but it more often occurs when a motion for reconsideration is filed. I am sure there were some motions filed by the losing side and I think (my guess) is the judge realized he dropped the ball on something factually. If the case was appealed and remanded back to him, that is a big slap to his career. So he must have messed up something big time and is trying to save his name.
She should hsve just cashed the ticket and not told anyone that dhe found it.if a ticket scanner says that a ticket is a loser and she trew it away she wouldnt have known it was a winner.they lady who bought the ticket deserves to get sued for her blatent stupidity for running her mouth and bragging.
Maybe another judge or someone from the lottery pointed out his mistake. Jones told the lottery how she got the ticket and they gave her the prize, but the store owner sued saying it was in their trash. The judge awarded the money to Duncan even though she said she discarded the ticket probably because Duncan and the store owner said the scanner malfunctioned.
It will be interesting how this one turns out.
Suppose the judge now rules its 50/50, wouldn't that set a precident on how to rule on 'found' tickets going forward?
Wouldn't that open the flood gates of folks stealing other folks winning tickets and later claiming they 'found' them... and are gladly willing to share 50/50?
You know, this whole incident has taken place for (1) reason, and (1) reason only...the amount of money involved. Man, if this was a ticket containing a prize of $20...even $50, there would be no debate because such a small amount "could be easily won again." People go through trash cans every single day, EVERYWHERE, and find tickets with overlooked prizes which they claim. This has become all POLITICAL and TECHNICAL now in terms of the trash can and its' contents belonging to the store. It's actually very sickening to me on many, many levels. What about the bums that go around to those same cans and dumpsters, WHICH BELONG TO THE STORES, and collect the cans along with other items they consider of value...even food? They collect these items and sell them them so they can eat right?
Well, it's still all the same basis by which this ticket is being approached. Do we see or hear about stores filing suite against these bums over cans, or, the left over partial hot dog they took and ate...which also belonged to someone else? Hell, bums find old tickets with maybe $2 on 'em as well...and claim them!! So, what's really going on here is a political battle over a player's "claim" that their ticket was scanned and the scanner lied so they threw the ticket away. Guess what? It's still her fault. She should've known from the start, AFTER CAREFULLY READING HOW TO PLAY THE GAME AND COMPARING ITS' CORRESPONDING PAYOUT STRUCTURES VERSUS WHAT NUMBERS SHE MATCHED.
I don't believe the scanner malfunctioned at all...she's trying to back track and pick up that cool million she tossed away after a very ATTENTIVE and SAVVY PLAYER came along, found the ticket and saw it's true value. God intentionally gave all of us eyes and a brain full of cells which are fully capable of comprehending such a simple ticket. She didn't use either one of her God given talents, which would've made her $1 million richer in this case. So, now we punish the trash diver that hones in and uses their brain to look for such tickets...because they know that these tickets are thrown away all day everyday by careless, lazy, and uninformed people.
Okay, tell the judge he needs to go out and round up all the bums that took discarded cans, hotdogs, and old tickets so he can rule over them as well. As one other poster mentioned which I also agree with, lose lips sink ships...she should've kept quiet and just claimed the money. Right now, she should be on a white sands beach sippin' on lots of Bahama Mamas while snackin' on exotic fruits with a very handsome waiter fanning her, and, at her beck and call.
L.L.
I make it a point now, to sift threw all garbage cans that I find with discarded lotto tickets. Since about a month ago , I've discovered about $60.
Nothin' to get overly excited about, but all it cost me was a few minutes of my time. My payoff will come someday, when I find my own $1 million
scratch ticket. My ticket will be signed (by me), my lips will be sealed, and the lottery commission will have it delivered to me with no fuss.
Well some things to think about here are....applying a reasonable person standard.
1.) Would a reasonable person have thrown away such a high value ticket...no.
2.) Was she negligent/or did she have an intent to abandon in throwing away the ticket? Probably not (unless the time period to claim had run). I doubt anyone plays not to win.
3.) is is possible the scanner misfunctioned? Yes.
But I am pulling for the finder as well. It kind of reminds me of situations when someone gets rid of something (a painting, etc.) and it turns out to be high value. In those cases (and usually where the ultimate owner is far removed from the orignal owner), it is usually finders keepers (unless there was some intent to deceive the owner or theft.)
Hey, good for you man...and congrats on your findings!!
You should be very excited!!! I'm a big believer in SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND and challeneged myself to salvage a few discarded tickets. So far, I've only found $5 but, as you've mentioned, all it costed me was TIME and EFFORT...100% profit. Hell, that ticket I cashed in bought me lunch that same day!!
I had lunch on someone else's carelessness...not my fault. See, it's the simple things in life that reward us most of the time but, most people are too proud to do such things.
That's why they make gloves, soap, and sanitizer!! mcginnis, there's lots of money out there just waiting to be found and your diligence will, in fact, pay off BIG one day. Even if it's not $1million, a $1000 find will pay some bills, feed you, and allow you to enjoy one hell of a HAPPY HOUR the next day!!
As a side note, I'm expecting to be contacted any minute now by the store where I found the $5 ticket. They'll want their cut of the $5 because I found it in their can!!
mcginnis, the clerk even saw me bring the ticket in from my car after I finished checkin' 'em...and proceeded to cash it for me. Know what he said? FINDERS KEEPERS!!!!
We don't live in a bad world, we live in a good world with a bunch of confused people.
L.L.
I can hunt, fish and grow things to feed myself and my family if I need to.
I'd be dammed before I lower myself to sift through somebody else's garbage and spit and puke and dirty diapers and condoms and who knows what else for anything.
I'd rather have my pride and dignity and self-respect as a man.
A very dignified response.
I respect that man.
X's 2. The cans I'm referring to are the one's inside the store right next to the counter where people scratch their tickets, or, the one's just outside the exit door where they toss 'em immediately. Though still trash cans, these don't typically contain all the aforementioned articles of disgust.
I wonder, now, why this comment wasn't made about the lady in question who found her $1 MIL ticket in a trash can full of nasty stuff
Nothing was said about how disgusting it was for her to look for valuable tickets in trash cans.
See how interesting things can get when you begin to inspect the technical aspect of such discussions? Get ready 'cause it's coming...
L.L.
The lottery already gave the money to Jones so whatever the court finally rules has nothing to do with any lottery decisions. There are at least four parties involved in the suit so it can't be a 50/50 split.
Yeah, the only items I sift through are located at lottery locations, which have nothin' but discarded lotto tickets/scratchers. Guess the other guy
was referring to checking out his own trash.
If I read the story right, Jones climbed into a trash bin and hopefully was wearing a "hazmat" suit because people have been know to dumb their garbage and trash from their homes in those bins. Some are saying Jones was stupid for telling people she found a "million dollar ticket", as if dumpster diving is a noble profession.
If I had to do it maybe, but I sure wouldn't want anybody knowing. Just saying.
"I wonder, now, why this comment wasn't made about the lady in question who found her $1 MIL ticket in a trash can full of nasty stuff"
Women are a whole different story.
There's no accounting for every cat-lady who's got garbage piled six feet high in her house full of cats and how they run their lives.
I'm talking about men.
Some men will pick through other people's garbage and some won't.
I'm one of the ones who won't.
It's really not that complicated.
Agreed, but having said that, a million dollar ticket would probably take away some of that indignity???
no. that kind of stank sticks.
It's nice to hear from a lady who knows the meaning of pride, dignity and self-respect.
That's what Teflon was invented for.
Oh, I understand exactly where YOU'RE coming from, STACK...and have no issues with it at all. My thing is that since the inception of discussing how a couple of us have since found tickets with prizes, IT JUST NOW BECAME ALL NASTY AND DISGUSTING...AS OPPOSED TO BEFORE NOW when the topic was originally posted. Feel me now? I'm just trying to keep it clean so it doesn't get out of hand.
If it's all nasty and disgusting now, as it's been said, it should've been so when this topic first came about. You're okay, buddy. Hey, she found all that money doing what she wanted to do. Seems to me she kicked pride to the curb and it payed off!!! Her only mistake was that she spoke about it.
L.L.
Wow. Not a very flattering commentary on our womenfolk. Watch out for those cat ladies!!!
I see what you're tryin' to say ridge but, pride doesn't have a gender. Both men and women were put here with various levels of pride. What one man or woman won't do, another will and it's usually based on needs, desperation, desires, hobby, etc. etc. There's nothing wrong with your level of pride as it's very admirable but, don't NOW knock the idea of goin' through trash for winning tickets. Know what I mean? If my memory serves, along with re-searching this topic on LP, you said nothing before about this type of thing being so disgusting.
Live and let live.
L.L.
"IT JUST NOW BECAME ALL NASTY AND DISGUSTING...AS OPPOSED TO BEFORE NOW..."
It became "all nasty and disgusting" to me when the providers, the breadwinners, the patriarchs of their respective families began revelling about their exploits and endeavors in groveling around in other people's garbage and waste.
This is no recent groundbreaking revelation, you either have pride and dignity as a man or you don't.
In my family, men don't grovel around in other people's garbage for any reason.
Maybe in your family they do.
"Seems to me she kicked pride to the curb and it payed off!!!"
It's "paid" not "payed".
But more importantly, though you and others like you may kick your pride to the curb for money, I and a lot of others never will.
It's just not in our DNA.
Your so passionate about garbage, very admirable. Perhaps this could be your winning platform in running for president in "16"
I can't speak for women any better than you can.
And you can't.
Or maybe you got one of them "feminine sides" the libs talk about all the time.
I know Max knows what I'm talkin' about though.
She won't get down and root around in garbage either.
Yup, your a definite shoe-in for a garbage industry endorsed, presidential candidate! Can I be on your election committee? I promise to be your
biggest cheer leader.
Sorry 'bout the typo...I'm not perfect. I never knew that checking discarded tickets, out of a trash can, was a form of lowering my pride, ridge. I think of it as more of an adventure with the high possibility of a reward...kinda like the lady we're talkin' about.
So, let's examine this. A man has lost his job, and is doing everything he can to take care of his family. He heard about such possibilities of finding valuable tickets and gives it a shot in the dark, okay. This same man discovers a ticket discarded with a $50K prize which saves him and his family from going completely under. Now, he had lots of pride but, he put it aside and it ends up saving him. What do you say about this man who's the bread winner...the patriarch of his family who exploited himself with an endeavor by checking garbage cans and groveling?
What really matters in the end, ridge? Yeah, men are supposed to be proud. But, REAL MEN AREN'T OVERLY PROUD. There is a such thing as being TOO PROUD. Be very, very careful in claiming what you will or won't do in this life, ridge. A real man does what he has to do when it comes to his family. You're very close to saying you wouldn't do what's necessary to try and care for your family because of your pride.
I'm going to leave this alone because it's taken a serious turn for the worse at my own expense. Take it easy.
L.L.
Seems like when your running out of anything sensible to say, you resort to calling male posters "feminine". In many ways, that is a compliment.
Women are beautiful, intelligent, and and very resourceful when it comes to achieving their goals in life. You need to continue to call all of us male
posters "feminine". This is the highest compliment you could ever give to any one of us. Women YOU ROCK!!!
" I think of it as more of an adventure..."
Now see, there's the dichotomy between you and me. When I think of adventure, I think of hunting bear or elk in the mountains - you think of groveling around in somebody's garbage. Sorry, but I just can't relate to that.
And your scenario of a man losing his job and needing to feed his family is just a wee bit silly, isn't it?
I mean really, what kind of man, faced with that prospect, is gonna say to his wife: "Well honey, I know you and the kids are hungry but don't worry, I've got a plan! Yes honey, I'm gonna go out and dig through people's garbage cans to see if anybody threw away a winning lottery ticket!"
And of course she'd swoon and say: "You're my hero!"
" But, REAL MEN AREN'T OVERLY PROUD."
Yes they are.
"There is a such thing as being TOO PROUD."
No there isn't.
"Be very, very careful in claiming what you will or won't do in this life..."
Careful never leaves the house.
"A real man does what he has to do when it comes to his family."
That's right, including laying down his life but digging around in other people's garbage cans is not one of the options a man considers.
How would you feel if one of your friends said: "Hey Lucky Loser, I ran into your father today. He was groveling around in the garbage can at 7-11!"
Could you live with that?
I couldn't.
I've been down and I've been stone broke. We have lived on cans of soup and cereal (with water) for weeks on end. Never did we go on public aide nor did we root around in trash or garbage. The lessons we learned from 'living lean' were to make our choices matter and that every choice makes a difference. EVERY CHOICE makes a difference. Trash was not one of 'our' choices.
That's not to say that others can't make different choices. Those are just the choices my family makes.
Whew! A very time consuming post, to explain your garbage views. As usual, this has nothin' to do with this thread, forum or topic whatsoever.
Had this been a post from sully, CD, max or any other of your bud's, we wouldn't even be having this pleasant chat.
oops... neither did my post or responses. Sorry to have derailed the thread further. (LOTTERY post... i must keep reminding myself... LOTTERY post... got it!)
Don't be so hard on yourself max, the thread is growing exponentially, due on large part to your valuable contributions.
now mcginnin... you mock me! lol - well good for you. i read through my 'contributions' and they are a FAR cry from valuable. you did make me laugh though and that is always a good thing (while i plan my LOTTERY STRATEGIES FOR TONIGHTS POWERBALL DRAWING)
and they said you can't teach an ol' dog new tricks. (YES I MIGHT GO OUT AND PURCHASE A QUICK-PICK FOR POWERBALL TONIGHT) - and yes i needed to yell at myself cuz i dont listen all that often to my drivel (driv·el/'driv?l/ - Noun: Silly nonsence.)
Hey now I have two kitties (including one adopted from a hoarder home) and my house is very, very clean (and I clean it myself and work two jobs).
The kitty from an animal hoarder home took a year to adjust since she was not used to rules, a schedule and a clean home.
Those hoarders should not have any animals.
You are so on the money Artist! Nothin' against the hoarders, but their lifestyle would not be at all conducive, to raising an animal with humane
care and love.
You bore me with your banal, insipid, effeminate, happy-chat, McDoofus.
Save it for someone who might like your style of meaningless fluff, ok?
Did you not notice that I was ignoring you or are you that obnoxious?
Seriously dude, no hard feelings, just go stalk somebody else, you creep me out.
max, I'm glad you got the point here and there's absolutely no harm in your previous response. However, this whole deal revolves around getting lucky with finding valuable discarded tickets in "not so dirty" disposal cans. I was merely describing how this could possibly be very adventurous, and, financially prospering for a certain type of individual that enjoys all things lottery. No, it's not the cleanest thing for anyone to be doing but, it wasn't about the clean factor. It was about money being found that was thrown away by careless and uninformed individuals. Am I right so far?
Then, the whole thing was turned into a Pride and Prejudice re-take of sorts...about what a man and/or his family shouldn't be doing. It was never about survival or putting food on the table by doing such things. My lunch via scratch ticket of $5 was taken completely out of context as I was using it only as an example of how I put such a find to good use and fed myself. For this matter, it could've been $5 worth of gas! That was it...nothing more nothing less. Where the hell does pride fit in this? Should I have been too proud to have lunch on a ticket that I found inside a can full of other papers and scratch tickets?
How off topic, immature, and disrespectful is dragging a person's family or pride into a discussion like this? In the end though, big game hunters go out and look for big game in various places...this is what they enjoy. Lottery players go out and look for tickets in various places...this is what they enjoy. The hunter finds a big elk and the lottery player finds a $1 million dollar ticket!!! Is this not a wash? It was a very, very simple discussion.
As I last said, we don't live in a bad world...we live in a good world with lots of confused individuals. For the record, I don't see you as confused. Here's to healthy living and happy lotto, max!!!
L.L.
LL - ok lottery-wise response. just as i stick to my budget and wouldnt go beyond it to spend more than what i have planned (as it would take money from other non-lottery portions of my budget e.g. food, utilities, etc.) there are other 'no-go' areas.
For me, digging around/sorting through what ever kind of verbiage you choose to use, of going through a discard pile (aka trash) is a 'no-go'. If the recycle bin we are talking about is the one at my HOME or the one at MY office, then yes, I would go through it, as I know what types of things go into and most importantly - to me - I know WHO uses them.
And stretching a point, if **I** tossed the last thing into a public bin and realized that I threw the items from the wrong hand into the bin, I MIGHT go after them to retrieve them. (remember - last thing tossed in - e.g. TOP item - STILL is only a 'maybe').
Call it pride, call it germ-awareness, call it what you will, I won't go through a trash/recycle bin checking old discarded not-by-me lottery tickets.
Safe to say, I am not calling up old movie titles here, nor going to any extreme, just saying, that dumpster-diving of any variety is not on my to-do list on any day.
However, I do save all my lottery tickets for the year and they are totalled up and subtracted from my winnings to give me a lower net-taxable (page 1 vs schedule a) bottom line.
oh... and we are (family-wise) hunters - be that of the perfect lottery wheel, combinations of numbers that mean something, or going out and bagging game that feeds several branches of the family all winter (we have a butcher in the family for meat, and a lawyer in the family for any future planned (of course) lottery financial wind-fall disbursements - we are organized non-dumpster-divers!)
On top of all this, just how far fetched is the possibility of a man finding a big ticket and fixing some financial problems? The lady in question did exactly the same thing only the circumstances were different. I'm 99.99% sure she was going to fix some financial issues and eat off of that money along with probably helping some people close to her. What else do you do with money?
Maybe I should be out with my shotgun way "up thar in them thar hills 'a lookin' fer the big elk" that ate the million dollar scratch off that noone's a' claimed yet. I'll find that elk, bust a cap in 'em, cut 'em open a take that thar ticket up in to the lotto peoples for 'a cashin' it!!!! Oh, I gotta clean that thar ticket first, tho', or it'll be plenty unacceptable for 'em.
Yeah, maybe this is more manly and full of pride. Goin' to get my shotgun and buckshots right now I tell ya!!!!! Just you wait...
L.L.