Four co-workers sue Surrey lottery winner

VANCOUVER —Four co-workers are suing a Surrey man for what they claim is their fair share of a $1-million lottery prize.

Ding Jiu Du, Haret Dagane, Elwood Prado and Tounkham Homsombath say that on Dec. 12, 2018, they gave Hung Sengsouvanh some money left over from a contribution to a potluck Christmas party at the lighting factory where they all worked.

The co-workers said they each proposed to kick in $5 to buy a $25 ticket for the Lotto Max jackpot for Dec. 14.

They claim in the suit that Hung, who was employed as the “lead hand” at the factory where they worked, volunteered to purchase the ticket after work and that the parties orally agreed that any winnings from the lottery would be divided evenly.

“Some of the plaintiffs had been friends with the defendant Hung for many years, and all of them had a good relationship at work and trusted him and respected him as their lead hand,” says a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court. “It was based on that trust that the plaintiffs believed that they did not have to put the contract into writing.”

Hung bought the ticket as agreed, but his co-workers did not hear from him over the weekend of Dec. 15 and 16, and Hung did not attend at the factory on the following Monday, the lawsuit says.

The co-workers learned via social media that Hung had won one of the $1-million Maxmillions prizes using the ticket bought from the money provided by them, the suit says.

“The plaintiffs asked the defendant Hung to provide them with their equal shares of the $1-million prize which would be $200,000 per plaintiff,” says the lawsuit.

“The defendant Hung has repeatedly refused to provide the plaintiffs with their equal shares of the prize.”

Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game with jackpots between $10 million and $60 million, and with multiple additional prizes known as Maxmillions worth $1 million each.

No response has yet been filed to the lawsuit and its allegations have not been tested in court. Hung could not be reached for comment.