Posted on: November 5, 2024, 06:34h.
Last updated on: November 5, 2024, 06:34h.
An Arkansas judge Tuesday put an end to a spat between a worker and his boss over a winning $500K lottery scratch-off ticket. The pair will split the prize 50/50, The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports.
Jose Quinteros sued his employee, Jorge Rivera Palma, a year ago claiming the latter stiffed him out of his share of the winnings. He said he and Palma had agreed to split equally any prizes derived from the purchase of four lottery tickets on February 2, 2023.
The defendant claimed that Quinteros gave him the money to buy two tickets, while he bought two more for himself, one of which was the winner, and so the money was rightly his. He denied there was any agreement to split the winnings.
In November 2023, Benton County Circuit Judge Doug Schrantz ordered Palma to deposit the disputed winnings in the court’s registry for safekeeping.
Conflicting Stories
The only fact both parties agreed on was that Palma physically bought the winning “AR 200X” ticket on that day from a Quick Mart store in Rogers, Ark. From there, their stories wildly diverged.
Quinteros claimed the pair purchased the four tickets jointly using winnings from tickets they had previously purchased together. He said they both scratched them off that day and that Palma asked him to bring the winner to his house so he could show it to his nephew, Marco Corado Erazo, who was also named in the lawsuit.
Quinteros drove to Palma’s house and handed over the ticket. Then he waited in his car for it to be returned, but it never was, according to the lawsuit.
When Quinteros called his employee from his car to ask what was going on, Palma said he would hold onto the ticket, and they would cash it in the morning in Little Rock. But when Quinteros returned to Palma’s house the next morning, he was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Palma had Erazo cash the ticket, according to the lawsuit. Palma told Quinteros he would give him his split when the winnings came through. This never happened, the suit claimed.
Joint Venture Existed
The plaintiff sued for breach of agreement and joint venture and deceit. Judge Xollie Duncan in Benton County court determined Tuesday that a joint venture had existed between the pair and that Quinteros should receive half the winnings.
That amounts to $177,750, as the full prize was worth $355,500 after taxes.
Quinteros’ lawyer, Aaron Cash, told the Democrat Gazette his client was happy with the verdict.
“We always believed our client was in a joint venture and are satisfied with the judge’s ruling,” Cash said.
