National Post (National Edition)
Court fight in the cards over $1.2M jackpot
CHASE THE ACE PRIZE PITS WOMAN AGAINST NEPHEW
Barbara Reddick misses her chats with her nephew, the boy she treated as a son, and is sad, her lawyer says, that things have come to this. But the Nova Scotia woman is hauling her 19-year-old nephew to court in an ugly family feud over a $1.2 million lottery win.
When Reddick went to the fire hall in Margaree Forks, N.S., earlier this month to collect her winnings, she assumed she would be getting a big cheque for the full jackpot. Instead, she got $611,319.50. Her nephew Tyrone MacInnis got the other half.
What followed, according to witnesses, “wasn’t pretty.” After posing, glum-faced, for pictures with a giant novelty cheque, Reddick told reporters, in video posted by CBC and CTV, “I’m taking him to court.” She accused her brother — MacInnis’s father — of just wanting a new truck.
On Thursday, Reddick’s lawyer, Adam Rodgers, filed a statement of claim in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, saying her nephew was not entitled to half the Chase the Ace winnings even though his name was written on the ticket. Rodgers also filed a motion to have a preservation order imposed on the share of the winnings her nephew has claimed. She’s worried any money spent by her nephew, or his parents, won’t be “recoverable,” and she wants the winning funds frozen.
The motion is to be heard Aug. 10 in the courthouse in Port Hawkesbury, N.S.
Chase the Ace is a popular game of chance. The jackpot grows week-to-week until it’s won. Each week the winning ticket not only gets a cut of the nights’ ticket sales, if the ace of spades is pulled from a standard deck of playing cards, they also get the jackpot. If the ace of spades isn’t drawn, the deck gets smaller and the jackpot gets bigger. In early July, after 50 weeks of no one pulling the ace, there were two cards left with a jackpot of $1.2 million.
Reddick decided to buy tickets after seeing a Facebook post by a family friend. She sent MacInnis money via etransfer to buy her $100 worth of Chase the Ace tickets for the draw, which raises funds for two volunteer fire departments in Margaree.
According to her claim, Reddick said she told her nephew to put his name somewhere on her tickets for good luck. He had won other draws, she said, and the family considered his name lucky. However, “there was no discussion or agreement between the parties about splitting the winnings,” the claim states.
MacInnis also put his home number on the tickets, without her instruction or permission, the claim says. Reddick said that surprised her. He also bought his own tickets, but didn’t put his aunt’s name on those.
A ticket purchased by MacInnis on behalf of Reddick was drawn, according to the claim. (Neither was present for the actual draw itself.)
Organizers divided the winnings, but Reddick’s lawyer said there was never a contract “of any nature” that would have entitled MacInnis to a share of the jackpot.
Reddick is a 57-year-old former navy supply technician with the Canadian Armed Forces, most recently posted to Halifax before her retirement in 2003. MacInnis lives in Glace Bay with his parents in his grandfather’s house. He goes to school at Cape Breton University and works part-time at Tim Hortons, according to the statement of claim.
In an affidavit, Reddick said that, “for many years I paid for everything for Tyrone” — his bills, a new PlayStation, his graduation suit, a new car a few months ago and $100 a month in spending money.
“I wanted him to have nice things and I didn’t want him to have to live like a student,” the affidavit reads. “I do not have a child of my own so I have always treated Tyrone very well and he was like a son to me.”
She said her nephew hasn’t spoken to her since the winning card was drawn. “I thought there would be just one cheque, so when they handed us two, I was stunned and had to walk away.”
Her lawyer said there was no discussion of mixing the winnings. “Nothing there, in any way, created a contract or an obligation on her part,” Rodgers said Friday.
“We don’t really even know (MacInnis’) version of the events at this point,” Rodgers added. “If there’s any dispute on what was said, well, that might be an issue.
“But even if a court were to find there was any kind of discussion, unless he could show that he paid for a portion of the tickets, it’s academic. There’s no contract and no obligation. That’s basic contract law.”
Reddick isn’t terribly concerned about the media attention, Rodgers said. But, “this is a young man she supported through his life. They’re very close and they used to talk all the time. She’s very sad about the loss of that relationship.”