Literally...
http://charter.net/news/read.php?rip_id=<D9UG8Q680@news.ap.org>&ps=1018
She should have kept her mouth shut as to where she got the ticket. ::)
Well, that link isn't very specific. here's the copy...
SEARCY, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas woman who cashed a $1 million lottery ticket may have to give up the winnings to a woman who threw away the ticket after she bought it, according to a judge's ruling Tuesday.
The judge decided that Sharon Duncan was entitled to the prize money, not Sharon Jones, who claimed the prize money after she took the ticket from a trash can of discarded lottery tickets at a convenience store in Beebe, a city about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Jones' attorney, James Simpson, said he plans to appeal. Jones had testified that she already spent some of the money on a new truck and cash gifts to her children.
Simpson noted that Duncan testified she threw away the ticket after the read-out on a ticket scanner said, "Sorry. Not a winner." The attorney argued that people shouldn't be allowed to throw items away and then say, "`ooh, I want to un-abandon it.'"
"We'd have garage-sale law all over the place," he said. "It became trash when someone threw it away."
White County judge Thomas Hughes, however, said Jones never met the burden of proof that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million.
"The $1 million was never found money," Hughes said.
Earlier Tuesday, Jones testified that she gathered a handful of discarded tickets from the trash can — as she had done many times before — and said there was no sign alerting customers not to take tickets.
That contradicted Super 1 Stop store manager Lisa Petriches' earlier testimony that she had taped a sign that read "Do not take" on the can. But a former store clerk testified that Petriches posted the sign only after Jones claimed the prize.
Petriches brought the lawsuit against Jones, and Duncan joined it after the judge said at a January hearing that she may be the true owner of the ticket. Hughes ruled that Petriches and the store's owner, Louie Dajani — whose corporation, Summer One LLC, joined the suit — weren't entitled to anything.
The judge instructed the winning side to write the judgment for his signature, and it will become official once Hughes signs it. Jones' attorneys will then have 30 days to file an appeal.
Hughes found that the evidence weighed in Duncan's favor that she bought the winning ticket, even though lottery records and store security video didn't synch up to the precise timing of the purchase.
Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that he investigated the circumstances of the ticket falling into Jones' hands. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and awarded the prize.
Duncan's attorney, James "Red" Morgan, argued that she simply made a mistake by throwing away a $1 million ticket and that the only right she willingly parted with was to enter the ticket for the possibility of a secondary prize.
I don't buy lottery tickets. But isn't it printed on the ticket that the holder of the ticket is the owner? How can a ticket that is paid with cash proved to be bought by a certain person?
Come to think of it, I think I bought a ticket in Searcy, Arkansas and accidentally threw it out with my receipt. I need to call my attorney... ::)
I think it is whoever holds it. Some even have to be signed on the back to claim it.
This story is ridiculous.. alot of stores I know of destroy the ticket after it's ran through the machine and comes out a loser.
"Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers." I learned that many years ago in grade school, so what's the issue?
I did not understand the logic behind giving it to the person that discarded it. I know that they have cameras and time/date stamps that can prove who actually bought the ticket. If she had just dropped it, then I could see where it could be questioned, she put it in the trash.
Quoteso what's the issue?
A million bucks, man! :D
Yeah the story sounds crazy that's why i can't figure it out. The lottery officials even looked into it before awarding the prize money and said "we're satisfied."
Let's say I give my ticket to be scanned and the person that scans the ticket says "no winner". then says, "would you like me to throw the ticket away" And I say go ahead. SCAM!!! big time.
It just happens that the person lets someone else go through the trash and recheck the tickets. OH, MY, I have a winner.
Moral of the story, always check the numbers yourself, even if you later have them scanned.
I can see it from that side, Cedarman.
In this case, though, the ticket was scanned and the lottery machine said, "Sorry. Not a winner." Assuming the store manager didn't tamper with the machine, it sounds like the State Lottery is to blame for the screwup. And they are the ones that investigated and awarded to $$ to the dumpster diver.
And why did the store manager file the original suit? Only to have the original ticket buyer join in later?
Hmmm...
Here when they scan it for you and it is not a winning ticket NOT A WINNER is printed across in big letters.
Or just sign the back. But not a good thing to do if it ends up in another trash can.
I saw this one on the news a few days ago. I can't believe they gave the winning ticket back to the woman that trashed it in the first place. Although, as screwy as the courts are in this country lately, I'm not surprised.
Quote from: metalspinner on May 03, 2012, 09:59:29 AM
I can see it from that side, Cedarman.
In this case, though, the ticket was scanned and the lottery machine said, "Sorry. Not a winner." Assuming the store manager didn't tamper with the machine, it sounds like the State Lottery is to blame for the screwup. And they are the ones that investigated and awarded to $$ to the dumpster diver.
And why did the store manager file the original suit? Only to have the original ticket buyer join in later?
Hmmm...
Our lottery laws were really tightened up after a few merchants got caught stiffing their customers. The Ontario lottery people launched a full scale investigation after complaints and a disproportionate number of dealers and family members turned up winners. Sounds like the judge may have done the right thing here but how did they determine who threw away the winning ticket?
There's a few comments about it's hard to understand why the person who threw away the ticket would have a claim. Let me take a guess. I bet it would have to do with the same laws that have to do with lost and found property. It's not lossers weepers finders keepers. It's something like who ever finds lost property has the best claim against all others except the orginal owner.
I would tend to bet (no pun intended :)) that the rulling by the judge was based on the fact that the woman BOUGHT the ticket. If she paid money for it it should be hers. If I pay money for a car but leave it somewhere and someone takes it it is still mine because I originally bought it and it did not otherwise legally change ownership. Wa-La ? :P
But the original owner did not "leave" it anywhere. She discarded it and "put" it in the trash. To me, she clearly abandoned it.
Let's all answer an obvious question together...
If the ticket was in fact a non-winner, would she want it back or even care if someone else took it out the trash?
No, because she threw it away.
It's like my kids. One of them might not play with a certain toy for months... until the other starts to play with it. Then all heck breaks loose. ::)
Let me make another worthless comment. (I hope I don't get arrested for practicing law.) I think there's probably quite a bit of contract law about a statement like, I'll give you a million dollars, is not a contract all by itself, and could not be enforced. But if putting a ticket in the trash did constitute a change of ownership, then I bet the IRS would be after the original owner to collect their gift tax on $1M. ???