henric
05-14-2012, 10:47 PM
Brandon Miller May 14, 2012
Have you ever lost a five-dollar bill? How about a ten or a twenty? The higher the denomination is, the worse the sting, right? Well, imagine losing one million dollars, as one American woman did when she threw out a winning lottery ticket. That has got to be one hell of a sting. Lucky for her, she might still get the money. Here is how it all went down.
Arkansas resident Sharon Duncan chucked her lottery ticket after a ticket-scanner said, “Sorry. Not a winner.” Another woman, Sharon Jones, then took the ticket out of the trash, along with other discarded tickets, at a convenience store in Beebe, Arkansas. After realizing she had a winning ticket, Jones cashed it in for the prize money. And then they went to court.
Duncan’s lawyers claimed that she was entitled to the money, as she mistakenly threw it away and did not purposefully part with any right, save for the possibility of a secondary prize. Jones’ lawyer claimed that people shouldn’t be able to abandon items and then ask for them back. So, basically, “finders keepers” was the argument. It did not fly with the judge.
Lisa Petriches, the store manager of the Super 1 Stop where the ticket was found in the trash, initiated the lawsuit against Jones. Duncan joined after the judge said she might be the true owner of the ticket. Petriches claims to have posted a sign above the trashcan that warned people not to take discarded tickets. While a former clerk disputed this claim, the judge still ruled against Jones. I am not sure if Petriches thought she could claim the money herself, but the money was deemed property of Sharon Duncan.
The ruling is going to be appealed, but this case brings up a few really interesting issues. Firstly, should the lottery corporation be held responsible if and when machines state false outcomes? Or is it the responsibility of the lottery player to double-check their tickets online? Most people simply trust what the machines say without giving thought to the notion that they might malfunction.
The more vivid issue regards when our property stops being our property. As grimy as it is to sort through the trash for discarded lottery tickets, it is not against the law. Since the owner willingly tossed the ticket, I do not see why Sharon Jones was at fault for claiming it (if the sign forbidding trifling in the trash was, in fact, not there at the time). Lottery officials obviously agree with me, since Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that there was an investigation about how the ticket made its way to Jones. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and that is why it awarded Jones the prize.
Judge Thomas Hughes, however, said that Jones never met the burden of proof showing that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million. "The $1 million was never found money," he said. I’m not so sure I feel the same way. I would actually let Jones keep the money, and have the lottery pay Duncan, too. It was their machine that prompted her to throw her ticket in the trash in the first place. And I’m sure the Arkansas Lottery could spare the funds, unlike Jones, who has already spent some of the money.
What do you think about this peculiar court case? Who would you give the money to, Sharon Jones or Sharon Duncan?
Have you ever lost a five-dollar bill? How about a ten or a twenty? The higher the denomination is, the worse the sting, right? Well, imagine losing one million dollars, as one American woman did when she threw out a winning lottery ticket. That has got to be one hell of a sting. Lucky for her, she might still get the money. Here is how it all went down.
Arkansas resident Sharon Duncan chucked her lottery ticket after a ticket-scanner said, “Sorry. Not a winner.” Another woman, Sharon Jones, then took the ticket out of the trash, along with other discarded tickets, at a convenience store in Beebe, Arkansas. After realizing she had a winning ticket, Jones cashed it in for the prize money. And then they went to court.
Duncan’s lawyers claimed that she was entitled to the money, as she mistakenly threw it away and did not purposefully part with any right, save for the possibility of a secondary prize. Jones’ lawyer claimed that people shouldn’t be able to abandon items and then ask for them back. So, basically, “finders keepers” was the argument. It did not fly with the judge.
Lisa Petriches, the store manager of the Super 1 Stop where the ticket was found in the trash, initiated the lawsuit against Jones. Duncan joined after the judge said she might be the true owner of the ticket. Petriches claims to have posted a sign above the trashcan that warned people not to take discarded tickets. While a former clerk disputed this claim, the judge still ruled against Jones. I am not sure if Petriches thought she could claim the money herself, but the money was deemed property of Sharon Duncan.
The ruling is going to be appealed, but this case brings up a few really interesting issues. Firstly, should the lottery corporation be held responsible if and when machines state false outcomes? Or is it the responsibility of the lottery player to double-check their tickets online? Most people simply trust what the machines say without giving thought to the notion that they might malfunction.
The more vivid issue regards when our property stops being our property. As grimy as it is to sort through the trash for discarded lottery tickets, it is not against the law. Since the owner willingly tossed the ticket, I do not see why Sharon Jones was at fault for claiming it (if the sign forbidding trifling in the trash was, in fact, not there at the time). Lottery officials obviously agree with me, since Arkansas Lottery Security Chief Lance Huey testified that there was an investigation about how the ticket made its way to Jones. He said the lottery was satisfied with the investigation and that is why it awarded Jones the prize.
Judge Thomas Hughes, however, said that Jones never met the burden of proof showing that Duncan abandoned her right to claim $1 million. "The $1 million was never found money," he said. I’m not so sure I feel the same way. I would actually let Jones keep the money, and have the lottery pay Duncan, too. It was their machine that prompted her to throw her ticket in the trash in the first place. And I’m sure the Arkansas Lottery could spare the funds, unlike Jones, who has already spent some of the money.
What do you think about this peculiar court case? Who would you give the money to, Sharon Jones or Sharon Duncan?