Florida Court Hears Couple's Lottery Winnings Dispute
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ORLANDO (CBSMiami/NSF) – A couple, who had been in a long-term relationship, have gone to court over a $1 million winning lottery ticket dispute. On Thursday the Florida Supreme Court heard the arguments on how to possibly distribute the winnings.
Howard Browning and Lynn Anne Poirier began living together in 1991 and, according to Browning, entered an oral agreement in 1993 that they would split any lottery winnings. In 2007, Poirier bought a lottery ticket with a $1 million prize, leading to a legal fight about whether she was required to share it with Browning.
Court documents indicate the two sides also dispute whether a romantic relationship continued at the time Poirier bought the ticket.
A Seminole County judge sided with Poirier, and the 5th District Court of Appeal also ruled partly in her favor, but asked the Supreme Court to take up the case.
The legal question involves what is known as the "statute of frauds,'' which generally bars lawsuits about agreements that take more than a year to carry out unless those agreements are in writing.
Sean Sheppard, an attorney for Browning, argued that the law should not apply in the lottery case, saying the agreement went on indefinitely as the couple was in a relationship.
"They would buy tickets together,'' Sheppard said. "They would put them on the mantle when they got home. They would check the results."
But Mark Sessums, an attorney for Poirier, said the romantic relationship was finished and that the case involves litigation over something that had been said 14 years before the winning ticket was sold.
"There has to be an end to it,'' Sessums said. Justices typically take months to rule in such cases.
"The News Service of Florida contributed to this report."
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