Nova Scotia judge issues freeze of winnings in Chase the Ace lawsuit

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A judge has frozen half of a $1.2-million Chase the Ace jackpot at the centre of a lawsuit between a Nova Scotia woman and her nephew.

Barbara Reddick sued her nephew Tyrone MacInnis after the grand prize of a charity fundraiser in rural Cape Breton was divided between the two, leaving them each with $611,319.50.

Reddick has said she put MacInnis’s name on the ticket for good luck and agreed to split the money if they won the consolation prize — but not the jackpot.

She sued MacInnis in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Port Hawkesbury.

Lawyers for both parties said that Justice Patrick Murray granted a preservation order on Monday freezing MacInnis’s winnings until the case is resolved.

Reddick’s lawyer, Adam Rodgers, said the two sides have agreed to a Sept. 17 settlement conference.

The controversy over the lottery in Margaree Forks, N.S., gained widespread attention after a celebratory photo-op ended with Reddick telling her 19-year-old nephew she intended to take him to court. The scene was caught on video and quickly went viral.

Rodgers has said the tickets were purchased with his client’s money and there was no contract or agreement of any kind to share the proceeds — even though both of their names were on the winning ticket.

“She agreed to have his name on the ticket for good luck,” Rodgers said in July. “That’s obviously been a point of contention for some people, but that in itself doesn’t create a contract.”