What to know about the fight over a $12.8M Arizona Lottery ticket
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Yet another person has come forward to press a claim to a disputed $12.8 million Arizona Lottery ticket.
Why it matters: We can think of about 12.8 million reasons.
- The Arizona Lottery, which is a party to the suit, previously told the Phoenix New Times that "this is a unique situation and we are not aware of any prior litigation of this sort."
Catch up quick: In February, Circle K filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court asking a judge to declare the rightful owner of a ticket that hit the jackpot last November after being printed at one of its Phoenix stores.
- A former Circle K manager, Robert Gawlitza, is a defendant in the suit and claims the ticket belongs to him and one of his former coworkers.
- A customer who requested but did not pay for the ticket, Soonchun Kim, also entered the fray last month to press her claim.
The intrigue: Ownership of the ticket is up for grabs thanks to a perfect storm of circumstances on the day of the drawing.
- Per court documents, Kim requested $85 worth of tickets but paid for only $60 worth.
- The remaining tickets — which constitute legal wagers, since vendors like Circle K pay the lottery for each one they print — fell behind the counter and weren't discovered until the next morning.
- One of those tickets hit the jackpot, which Gawlitza learned when he arrived at work the next day.
All parties agree on what happened next: Gawlitza clocked out and changed out of his uniform to avoid lottery regulations on vendors buying tickets while at work, and then "bought" the winning ticket for $10.
- Exhibits filed in the case show Gawlitza texted his supervisor to ask if pulling that maneuver was OK, though he didn't reveal he bought the winning ticket until after he'd done it.
- Circle K confiscated the ticket until ownership was sorted out, and later fired Gawlitza for violating company policy.
- Gawlitza has since filed a counterclaim against Circle K for wrongful termination, among other accusations.
Friction point: The case hinges on differing theories of ownership.
- Circle K has not outright claimed ownership of the ticket, though lottery regulations state that unsold tickets belong to the vendor. It has claimed that Gawlitza's "purchase" was illegal because it was conducted after the drawing.
- However, Gawlitza claims — and several current and former Circle K employees have attested to this in affidavits — that the company had an unwritten policy of forcing employees to purchase printed-but-unsold tickets, making it rightfully his.
- Kim has not advanced a legal theory for her ownership. Her attorneys did not respond to questions from Axios.
What's next: A hearing is set for Nov. 6 in the case, though the ultimate resolution may be a long way off.