Ontario Lottery awards man half of $6.1M lottery prize with remainder in legal limbo

Dec 5, 2017, 7:47 am (29 comments)

Canada 6/49

An Ontario man who parted ways with his live-in girlfriend after winning the lottery has been awarded half of the disputed $6.1 million Lotto 6/49 prize.

But the rest of the cash bonanza remains in legal limbo.

Maurice Thibeault arrived at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s Toronto prize centre holding one of the two winning tickets in the Sept. 20 jackpot, worth $12.2 million.

But before the Chatham resident could collect the money, his former girlfriend Denise Robertson, 46, obtained an emergency court injunction and alerted OLG not to hand over the millions.

"OLG has verified that the ticket in question was purchased by Maurice Thibeault and will proceed to pay him one-half (approximately $3.07 million) of the prize on or about Dec. 30, 2017," the provincial gaming agency said in a statement.

"The other half of the prize, which is in dispute, will be paid into court in 45 days unless the parties resolve the matter privately or choose to take part in the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario's lottery dispute arbitration process," OLG said.

"OLG's prize claim review process is in place to ensure OLG pays the right prize to the right person."

Robertson's lawyer, Steven Pickard, said Monday that "barring a settlement, it's going to end up in court."

"The only formal process that we have left to us is a statement of claim. Other than something that's agreed to by the parties, the next step is a statement of claim," said Pickard.

"She does claim that half of the $6.1 million is hers. She doesn't dispute his half. It's our position that what's being paid to court is entirely hers," he said.

"They shared everything. She's adamant and quite confident that she's entitled to her half. Despite the fact that he's going to get his half first, she doesn't think that changes her entitlement."

Neither Thibeault, 46, nor his lawyer, Richard Dinham, returned repeated messages seeking comment.

Sources close to Robertson have said she asked Thibeault if the ticket, which had the numbers 6, 17, 29, 37, 45, and 47 on it, had won and he responded that it hadn't.

Her friends say she thought nothing of it until he moved out of her house five days after the draw.

In their two years and one month of living together in her house, with her teenage daughter from a previous marriage, the couple often played the lottery, said a source.

Thibeault bought the ticket at a Chatham convenience store using a debit card linked to his personal bank account.

His friends say while she texted him to ask if he'd bought a ticket, she did not ask him whether their numbers had won.

They also maintain he had been planning for months to end the relationship and the lottery win merely expedited the separation.

The two are not considered common-law spouses as they had not cohabited for the requisite three years and have no children together.

On Sept. 25, Robertson, a federal public servant, arrived home to find Thibeault, a father of three who worked at a granite and glass supply firm, had cleared out all his belongings from their shared home. He had also quit his job.

The other half of the overall $12.2 million prize was won by a ticket holder in Quebec.

The Star, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

s5thomps's avatars5thomps

Should be interesting. Maybe not half but I would at least give her a parting gift. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 500,000-1,000,000. that's just me though....

LiveInGreenBay's avatarLiveInGreenBay

They weren't married, she gets nothing.

Nikkicute's avatarNikkicute

Ladies,

When a man gets his money right (in this case he won the lotto) and if he doesn't have children with you, a woman finds out if you're REALLY the one he wants to be with . . .or if you were just the best he could do at the time.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

If they don't have it now: Canada may soon have Palimony!

What is Palimony?

Palimony is the division of financial assets and real property on the termination of a personal live-in relationship wherein the parties are not Legally Married.

noise-gate

Just a thought: This guy has lived for 25 months with both this woman & her " teenage " daughter. Probably started getting flak from this kid, you know the old lines" You not my father,you can't tell me what to do"- the Mother takes the daughter's side, and he figures out its best to leave these two. As luck would have it, He hits it big, and makes an exit... and now this! It's as a friend of mine says " you never know with women."

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

A man comes home one day and says, "Guess what honey? Pack your bags, I won the lottery!" The wife squeals with delight and says, "That's great! Should I pack for the mountains or the beach?" He says, "I don't care, just get out!"

LOLThud

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

Husband: What would you do if i won the lottery?
Wife: I'd take half and leave.
Husband: Well, I won $12. Here's $6 and you can start packing anytime now.

LiveInGreenBay's avatarLiveInGreenBay

What's the difference between a man arguing with his wife and a man with a lottery ticket?  The man with the lottery ticket actually has a chance to win.

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by s5thomps on Dec 5, 2017

Should be interesting. Maybe not half but I would at least give her a parting gift. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 500,000-1,000,000. that's just me though....

If the relationship deteriorated beyond repair, where there was yelling & screaming. Her saying  " l hate you,you a loser, how did l ever allow myself to end up with you"- she gets absolutely nothing. If he found someone else, and wanted to let Denise down gently- yeah, maybe $200,000 & bye bye Felicia.If her daughter was the mouth,and she went along with it- the price drops to $100,000. For whatever good times existed before the collapse.

That's my final answer Denise!

EdG1955

He bought the ticket.  With funds from his own personal, non-shared bank account.  He's the winner.  She deserves and should get nothing.  Maybe next time she'll make the guy put a ring on it before allowing cohabitation with her and her daughter.

noise-gate

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Dec 6, 2017

If the relationship deteriorated beyond repair, where there was yelling & screaming. Her saying  " l hate you,you a loser, how did l ever allow myself to end up with you"- she gets absolutely nothing. If he found someone else, and wanted to let Denise down gently- yeah, maybe $200,000 & bye bye Felicia.If her daughter was the mouth,and she went along with it- the price drops to $100,000. For whatever good times existed before the collapse.

That's my final answer Denise!

...however if Maurice & Denise were splitting a bottle of wine and Denise had Maurice, while he was intoxicated, sign a lottery agreement to split any jackpot evenly on a napkin... that changed everything!

 

Maurice and Denise, rhythms doesn't it? For all the wrong reasons l might add.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

I would be very surprised if the court did not split the money 50/50. They play the lottery together so it was a joint effort and they lived together as a couple. We have also seen in other cases where there is deceit (in this case, lying about the ticket and moving out), the court will at least split it and in one case, I believe the deceitful party had to give more than 50% of his/her share. If it was his ticket, why did he lie about it??? And none of those cases had a written agreement.  I doubt any court would give any credibility for the sudden move by blaming the teenage daughter. Case closed.

Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by Nikkicute on Dec 5, 2017

Ladies,

When a man gets his money right (in this case he won the lotto) and if he doesn't have children with you, a woman finds out if you're REALLY the one he wants to be with . . .or if you were just the best he could do at the time.

She will get her share at least.

noise-gate

If Jon Luc is so sure that he's client is entitled to half of the jackpot payout, why on earth would he say " Other than something that's agreed to by both parties.." I am no lawyer, but that statement right there, implies that he's HOPING a deal could be reached. He's own words betray him. Why make a deal, if you know things are going to go your way? Jon luc is not a very good attorney, he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

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