Photo: wftv9
Bitter
feud: After three hours of deliberations, the jury agreed that Lynn
Poirier (left), who won a $1million jackpot, must pay $291,000 to her
ex-boyfriend, Howard Browning (right), who claims he bought the ticket
Follow @KonnieMoments1
'No way, no how are you going to share in this winnings'
Howard Browning said he and his partner agreed to split any winnings
Browning, 62, said an ATM receipt shows he bought the winning ticket
But schoolteacher Lynn Anne Poirier said they had already broken up
She claimed she bought the winning $1million ticket in 2007 herself
A jury in Florida ruled last Thursday that the two had a verbal agreement
Now Poirier has filed for bankruptcy, she has to give Browning $291,000
A
lottery winner has filed for bankruptcy after being forced to give
$291,000 of the $1 million lottery jackpot to her former boyfriend who
sued her for failing to share.
Lynn Anne Poirier, 62, claimed her prize in 2007, and her then-boyfriend of 16 years Howard Browning sued her just months later.
The
nine-year legal battle culminated on Thursday last week, when a jury
ruled Poirier and Howard have a valid - though unwritten - contract to
share the winnings.
And now, just days later, Poirier has filed for bankruptcy. The Orlando Sentinel reports Poirier didn't list Browning, also 62, as a creditor in the
case filed Saturday. She listed the case against Browning as
'pending.' 
He said/she said: The couple were
together for 16 years but never married. Browning claimed that, in 1992,
they made an agreement to split any future lottery winnings 50/50.
Poirier said he was lying
Browning's
attorney Sean Sheppard asked a judge last week to tack on more than
$150,000 to the $291,000 he was awarded, claiming interest due from the
2007 jackpot.
Poirier has long denied making any deal with Browning during their 16-year relationship.
It's not clear how the jury decided on the amount to be paid to Browning.
According to the The Orlando Sentinel Poirier said: 'Never under any condition, any place, anywhere did I say I would split lottery winnings with Howard Browning.'
Browning,
who was unemployed at the time, claims he paid for the tickets, adding
an ATM receipt shows that he withdrew several hundred dollars from his
bank account just before buying the slips.
Poirier claimed she ran into Browning at the gas station and they separately bought tickets.
Browning
says he suspected something was wrong when weeks later Poirier stopped
returning his calls and disappeared from their house.
She ordered him to leave the home, and when Browning refused to go she took him to court to force him out.
Throughout the week, defendant Lynn
Poirier, 62, testified that she won the millionaire raffle jackpot and
collected the winnings in 2007, after she purchased the ticket at a
Sunoco gas station
A jury found there was a verbal contract between the couple and ordered Poirier to pay Browning
No comments:
Post a Comment