Includes video report
A woman awarded half of a $1.2 million lottery prize in Nova Scotia says her nephew is "dead" to her after he took half of the prize money, and that she only wrote his name on the ticket for "good luck." Meanwhile, at least one lawyer says she may have a case.
Barb Reddick and her nephew, Tyrone MacInnis, each received checks for $611,319.50 on Thursday after a $1,222,639 ticket with both their names on it was pulled Wednesday night at a Chase the Ace draw in Margaree, N.S.
Reddick surprised the organizers by telling the media soon afterward that she would be "taking (MacInnis) to court."
On Friday, Reddick explained that, although MacInnis purchased the ticket, she sent him $100 for tickets, and "told him to put his name on it for good luck." She says she only planned to give him $150,000 if he won.
"He bought other tickets and didn't put my name on it," she said.
"I'm not greedy," she went on. "If he would have won, I wouldn't have (gotten) nothing out of him," Reddick added.
Reddick said she will never speak with her nephew again "in this life or the next," adding, "He's dead to me. I don't want nothing to do with him."
Reddick maintained Friday that she would be "taking him to court" and said that she had called a lawyer but had not yet heard back. She said pursing legal action is "for the principle."
"It don't matter if the judge give me the money back or not," she said.
A member of MacInnis' family said that they would not comment, saying only that they plan to get a lawyer.
Bernice Curley, chair of the Margaree Forks Chase the Ace committee, said she was floored.
She said because there were two names on the winning ticket, she wrote a check for half of the winnings to each person, after checking with province's alcohol and gaming division "to make sure I was allowed to do that. They were perfectly fine with that, that it would make it easier for everyone involved. So I split the check evenly."
"I can't really explain it. I didn't expect anything like that to happen," she said. "I just came to deliver the checks and present them to the winners.
"I'm a little bit disappointed that happened at the end."
Earlier Thursday morning, Curley said that there was a good crowd on hand for the big win.
"The buzz was quite high," she said.
"Everyone was pretty excited to see what was going to happen. Since the jackpot got higher, every week the crowd got bigger."
"I think people in the area got a little frustrated. They're not used to having traffic gridlocked in Margaree Forks, but it was short-lived and it was great to see so many people come to the area."
The proceeds are being shared by the Margaree Volunteer Fire Department and North East Margaree Volunteer Fire Department, which are getting new fire trucks and possibly emergency response vehicles.
"For a place that says there's no money, there was money coming into Margaree over the last few weeks. I'm not sure where, but everyone just wants a shot at it [the jackpot]," Curley said.
She said she's been asked if she feels guilty about the money people are spending on tickets.
"I'm not sure. I'm really not sure where that money comes from," Curley said.
"I'm more of a believer that if you weren't giving it to us, you'd be giving it to some other gambling idea."
Does Reddick have a case?
Rob Currie, who teaches at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, said the first thing that needs to be done is find out what rules and regulations are in place for this type of situation.
This would require looking at the rules from the Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia, which handle games of chance such as Chase the Ace.
He said there would also have to be evidence about what the terms of the agreement were; noting that an oral contract is "much dicier" than a written one.
He added that, because this dispute is about more than $25,000, it is too large to be brought to small claims court and it could only be brought to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
"It could cost tens of thousands of dollars to both sides and it could drag on for years," said Currie.
He said there are many disputes known to Canadian law about lottery tickets, and his impression is that none of them end very well.
Halifax-based lawer David Hutt, who was not representing Reddick when he spoke to local media on Friday, said that she "may" have a case, although he's waiting for more details.
"It's a question of contract," Hutt said. "It's not really between her and the organizers of the event. It's actually between her and her nephew, and right now we're really scant on analysis."
Hutt said that MacInnis' name being on the ticket would be evidence the court would consider, but how that's interpreted "depends on what the two discussed." He said it's also likely the court would consider whether there was an "oral, informal" contract between the two.
"If it was just a gratuitous promise on her part, it's quite possible that she does have a case and (if) there is no contract, she should get the whole amount," Hutt said.
Hutt emphasized that "we're really scant on details" and pointed out that he has yet to hear MacInnis' version of events. MacInnis has not yet commented publicly.
"It's terribly sad and it suggests to me that more of us should formalize these agreements," Hutt said.
Hutt suggested that Canadians who play the lottery together — including in office pools — should write down their contracts. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation provides a form that players can use to document their pool play.
About Chase the Ace
Chase the Ace is a form of lottery that has gained popularity since 2013 in parts of Canada as a way to raise funds for charities. It is also known as Crown the King and Jig the Joker.
The jackpot accumulates from week-to-week until it is won, and the game is then over. Each week participants buy lottery tickets. The funds from ticket sales are divided into three parts. Typically the organizers keep 50%, the winner of the lottery takes 20% and 30% goes into the jackpot. The lottery winner also then draws a card from a deck of playing cards and wins the accumulated jackpot if the ace of spades is drawn. If not, the reduced deck is kept for the following week's game.
VIDEO: Watch the aftermath of the jackpot award ceremony
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Thanks to dannyct for the tip.
That sucks big time. They're paying more for the lawyer than the ticket is actually worth. This is a trust issue too. If it goes to court, it will drag. Good luck to that woman, however, they should have had a plan before all this happened. Since names are on the ticket, he might have to pay her depending on the winnings.
Didn't even have to scroll to the bottom...................... Just pathetic
Some lawyer is going to win a jackpot!
Sad. Money is nothing compared to family that have your back
Lawyer fees are not cheap
The curse of the lottery, eh?
I think this is more like the curse of stupidity.
If it is your ticket then your name should be the only name on it.....you do not invite someone else to add their name on a ticket that could possibly win!!!!.....You then gift the amount you plan to gift AFTER you win...
I am curious as to why she had him purchase the tickets....Why didn’t she buy them herself...
And her saying that she put his name on the ticket for “good luck” .....(you can fill in the blank on that one!)
I agree with everyone on this news topic. They might as well hand the prize to the lawyer. Case closed.
never involve lawyers with anything. they should settle this themselves. 33.3% for him 66.7% for her seems fair since she made an error in judgement.
"she only wrote his name on the ticket for "Good Luck""
It must have worked!
What is the Cost of Good Luck?
Half of 1.2 Million!
Worse comes to worse. What if he disappears with the money, takes care of himself, gets a search warrant from the aunt who goes to court(SMH), some of you are correct. The lawyer. Then the lawyer gets in place and starts charging $150- $500 per fee. Lawyers aren't cheap either. THen the tax payers get involved. Wtf next?
I think both people weren't thinking and that is if he flees away some place else she isn't getting anything.
This story gave me a migraine. Do people watch cartoons all day and only look at the pictures in books? The level of stupidity cannot be explained.
She said because there were two names on the winning ticket, she wrote a check for half of the winnings to each person, after checking with province's alcohol and gaming division "to make sure I was allowed to do that. They were perfectly fine with that, that it would make it easier for everyone involved. So I split the check evenly."
Why did Reddick wait until after they got their checks to say she should get all the money?
Hutt said that MacInnis' name being on the ticket would be evidence the court would consider, but how that's interpreted "depends on what the two discussed." He said it's also likely the court would consider whether there was an "oral, informal" contract between the two.
There are at least three sides to this story and we heard only two. The court will make their ruling after hearing from all sides. Bernice Curley, chair of the Margaree Forks Chase the Ace committee check with NS alcohol and gaming division before issuing the checks so it looks like she and the gaming division believe MacInnis should get half. And saying she added MacInnis' name to the ticket isn't going to help her case any.
Hopefully she'll get a good lawyer that will tell her the chances of winning might not be worth the cost of a lawsuit.
Hi Stack47!
The thing that is irritating is that it may cost more money for a lawsuit, money that she could use to better her life.
This woman seems like she would rather put her nephew and herself through hell just to prove a point and out of anger that things did not go the way she assumed they would.
I think she said she is not greedy? She can prove it by taking her portion, learn from this experience and move on.
Being vindictive never helps.
If you're talking about unrelated comments like "Christians should not be suing other Christians", I agree, but the actual story is unique and interesting.
It's unique because no one with common sense has or will ever make such a mistake. Even occasional players who don't know the difference between annuity value and cash value understand enough of the basics to avoid this pitfall. People sign tickets as proof of ownership. It was her ink and hand that signed her nephew into 50% of the winnings. If she wanted to assign him less then she never should have signed his name on it or add the percentages in parenthesis next to each name. Many people won who signed the tickets with their names only and after the win decide at the lottery headquarters that they will share equally with spouses, siblings and/or friends. She gave up that control when she added his name to the ticket. Did she assume that because her name was listed first, she called the shots? If you gamble to win, learn the rules. Stay connected with the happenings.
Family and money.....a bad combination.
She loved her nephew like a son, but not a half a million dollars worth!
Tyrone doesn't seem to be in the least bothered with how his aunt feels.He got his OWN check, his ship came in. I mean just look at that smile on his face, it says " life is good."
Hey nephew don't spend it all in one place or maybe none at all... You never know when your day in court comes if your going to have to fork over that money or not.
It wasn't the same as signing the usual "by signing your name, you agree to the lottery's terms" type of ticket so the circumstances are much different. I don't think it's about not knowing the rules, but more of like a change of heart after she found out the amount on his check was the same as hers.
She is of course wrong saying she ain’t greedy.
That is exactly what she is, greedy.
If she can’t go to the store her self and buy tickets dont buy tickets at all and if she feels so bad about her nephew let someone else buy the tickets.
Saying afterwards she would have given him $150.000, no she wouldn’t have given him $1 if his name wasn’t on the ticket, beacuse she is greedy.
So if you ask a buddy to pick you up a few tickets for the next lottery draw in your country and tell him you will give him some of the prize if you win. He deserves half ? Even if that wasn't the agreement ?
*Granted, the putting of his name on the ticket for luck was suspect and her explanation in the video of what game he was supposed to get half of could be questioned. Wasn't there something about himnot putting her name on the other tickets he was supposed to purchase for her? Course, we haven't heard from him, yet.*
I could see her point on giving him only $150K, at his age and maturity level.
I have picked up tickets for neighbors because I was going to the store in the past. But expecting half ?
Glad I am not asking you for any favors.
She surely did bring this on herself. I would never put anyone else name on a ticket I bought "for luck". That was her stupidity 1,000%
AAAAAMEN
Oh that is not a problem in sweden. Most of the plays are made online in Sweden. If you play in store you need to use a players card registered in your name, your name is preprinted on the ticket also. If the ticket is lost, burnt or eaten by your dog, you will recieve your winnings in your bank account anyway. If you want to play with friends you do this online, everybody puts in the same amount of money and will recieve equal in case of a win.
That is interesting . So you can never claim anonymously?
Winners are anonymous in sweden if they choose to. When you win big and have played in store you dont need to go to the store first to claim. Of course some people do this because they want to check tickets in store, in that case the store owner at least know who the winner is. But they are not allowed to reveal who the winner is. Jackpot winners will recieve a phone call from an employe at Svenska Spel when they win and if they have cell phone numbers registered online.