Family in 10-year Lotto dispute

A Lotto win of $250,000 has caused a court dispute more than a decade long betweenmembers of an Auckland family. Ajnesh Chinappa and his wife Valashni Chinappa used a Lotto win from 2009 to put down a deposit for a family home in Auckland’s Papatoetoe, where they lived with Ajnesh Chinappa’s sister Angeline Narain and their mother Kaniamma Winter. A recently published Court of Appeal judgment states a ‘‘division’’ arose within the family, and the married couple, who the home was registered to, insisted Narain andwinter move out. Narain andwinter claimed Narain had 50% equitable interest in the property based on her contribution to the purchase price from the Lotto winnings. In 2021, Narain’s claims were upheld and it was concluded the Chinappas held a 50% interest in the net value of the property. The Chinappas appealed the outcome and rejected Narain was the Lotto winner and the one who contributed funds to buying the house. Justice Rachel Dunningham ruled the Chinappas’ appeal was allowed in part, but she was satisfied Narain had established her entitlement to the Lotto sum. Justice Dunningham found the Chinappas held a 20% share of the house for Narain and that they should compensate her for her loss of occupation of the property, which would be 20% of the market rental since she was forced to leave in 2012. ’’If the parties are unable to agree on this sum, it is to be fixed by the High Court,’’ she said.