Fla. Lottery Rejects $500,000 Payment After Misprint

pirtybirdy · Post by **pirtybirdy** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:22 am

Fla. Lottery Rejects $500,000 Payment After Misprint
Thursday, May 17, 2007

E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
OCALA, Fla. — The Florida Lottery is refusing to pay a $500,000 prize until it can inspect the $20 scratch-off ticket, which officials said Thursday appears to be a misprint.

Joe Curcio, 56, says he got the ticket at a service plaza Sunday on Florida's Turnpike.

The Gold Rush ticket has the numeral 1 on the top row and a numeral 1 above the $500,000 scratch-off piece, making the ticket appear to be a winner. But when Curcio had it scanned, the ticket's bar code indicated it wasn't.

Curcio, who owns a used car dealership, said lottery officials told him the top number actually was a "13" that was misprinted.

"They're saying it's a misprint. How do I know it's a misprint?" he asked. He has hired an attorney to press his claim.

Lottery spokeswoman Jacqueline Barreiros said Curcio still needed to turn over the ticket for a full inspection.

"We can't say whether we will pay the jackpot or not until we go through the process," she said.
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Um......I think Florida Lottery should "go scratch their ass" and pay up.

Post by **Skylace** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:40 am

Damn straight. Misprint my ass. If it says it's a winner they need to pay up. Learn from their mistake and move on.

major.tom · Post by **major.tom** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:31 am

If there's no evidence of tampering and the discrepancy was a product of their fabrication process, that's their tough luck. Their quality control (or lack thereof) is not his responsibility.

Pay the man.

Post by **eefanincan** » Fri May 18, 2007 1:54 pm

I think its very "convenient" that they've decided this is a misprint.... I smell a lawsuit!

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:00 pm

eefanincan wrote:I think its very "convenient" that they've decided this is a misprint.... I smell a lawsuit!

I fear the "fine print" (terms & conditions) may let them get away with it.

fritz · Post by **fritz** » Fri May 18, 2007 5:28 pm

If it was my ticket and thy woulden't pay I think I would be pissed-off.500k is a drop in the bucket to them.

Kezza · Post by **Kezza** » Fri May 18, 2007 11:29 pm

I feel bad for the poor guy because he's losing out both ways:

1. If the lottery refuses to pay his claim and/or

2. If he wins his lawsuit and is awarded the $500,000.00, he'll then have to pay attorney's fees, thus reducing his prize money.

Sucks, doesn't it?

Post by **faceless** » Fri May 18, 2007 11:36 pm

Don't the costs of a court case come as a separate amount? In most cases here the two amounts are usually separate.

Kezza · Post by **Kezza** » Sat May 19, 2007 12:03 am

Not familiar with Florida law (maybe someone here is), but often in civil lawsuits, the attorneys take a percentage of the awarded amount.

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Sat May 19, 2007 12:16 am

I believe legal fees are only "recoverable" on top of a claim if the losing party was acting frivilously.

More likely the lawyers will take a slice of the basic award. Though the basic award could be beefed up for items like distress etc.

Post by **eefanincan** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:31 am

faceless wrote:Don't the costs of a court case come as a separate amount? In most cases here the two amounts are usually separate.

Usually in the U.S., lawyers take a percentage of the amount awarded, but it really depends on what sort of agreement the clients had with their lawyers in the first place.

Also, lottery wins in the U.S. are taxed quite heavily, if I'm not mistaken, so they'd also lose a large chunk of the money that way. In Canada, lottery winnings are tax free---- guess the gov't figures they tax us enough in other places!