A Seminole County, Florida, man who sued his ex-girlfriend for half of her $1 million Florida Lottery winnings went away empty-handed Tuesday, her attorney said.
After 1½ days of testimony, Circuit Judge Alan Dickey ruled in favor of defendant Lynn Anne Poirier in what's known as a directed verdict — meaning the plaintiff's case was deemed legally insufficient.
Howard Browning, who is unemployed, and Poirier, a Seminole County special-education teacher for more than three decades, had lived together for 16 years, he said. They agreed that if either ever won a lottery, they would share the winnings, he contended. In 2007, he gave her $20 for a ticket, and she won, he argued in court.
Poirier disputes that account, said her attorney, Mark Sessums of Lakeland. Poirier bought the ticket herself, never agreed to share any winnings, had been trying to get Browning to leave her Geneva farmhouse for some time and eventually evicted him, Sessums said. She later sold the house.
BOO-HOO! for poor Howard Browning.
Here's a news flash..........get a job, and start buying your own lotto tickets.
I wonder? If he bought the winning ticket and she sued him, would the judge rule the same way?
I must concur. Simply put IF he were a stay at home Dad raising her children/their kids, the courts would still side with the lady. Reason being...us women are to appear helpless and need all the govt help possible to reach the status of men. By the way..I do NOT adhere to that statement...its an observation I have seen with living 50 years on this earth and watching as Justice is swiftly blinded by gender. She graciously "evicted" him after she most likely had the monies in hand...What a back handed thing to do.
I'm sure there is MORE To both sides of this story...but the judge ruled...and someone is left the fool.
Probably not. That is why I don't condone folks "living together" for long periods of time. Someone always gets the short end of the stick. If he had married her, she would have had to split..regardless.
Sign your tickets, I don't care if you buy them with your brother, your mother or the local church pastor. I sign all my tickets, even the ones I give as gifts.
I may give a ticket as a gift, but I am <snip> sure not stupid enough to let you walk away with millions and I get nothing in the event the ticket turns out to be a winner.
Theres something to be said for that little piece of paper...the marriage license.
I argee with that!!!!! Shacking Up never pays off-----
Smart idea...never thought to sign the ticket even if it was a gift because they can't claim it without you!
Ahh Jeeeze.
I'd tell ya to keep it.
Unfrigginbelievable.
OMG, a gift is a gift is a gift. If you don't want to give a lottery ticket as a gift, completely and totally, then just don't do it!
In the case in the original article, it is hard to really know from the facts given whether the two ever agreed to share or not. The burden of proof was on him, and he couldn't prove it. If two or more people want to make such an agreement, shacking up or not, the solution is simple - just get it in writing and have it notarized!
What a loser. Here's a tip, dude: grow up, get a job and pay your own way... just like the rest of us.
It is a bad idea to begin or continue living with someone, or maintaining a relationship, when one does not enjoy the other person's company; because it sends unhelpful messages and feelings towards them. It is unhelpful to both people and others around them.
There's a few wimmins out there livin' in houses I bought that if I'da had my druthers I'da lived with 'em instead of marryin' 'em.
Cuz like ol' Merle Haggard said:
My hat don't hang on the same nail too long
My ears can't stand to hear the same ol' song
And I don't leave the highway long enough
To bog down in the mud
Cuz I got Ramblin' Fever in my blood
I caught this Ramblin' Fever long ago
When I first heard a lonesome whistle blow
And if someone said I ever gave a dam
They dam sure told you wrong
Cuz I've had Ramblin' Fever all along
Sometimes I like to bed down on a sofa
And let some pretty lady rub my back
Spend the early mornin' drinkin' coffee
Talkin' about when I'll be coming back
But I don't let no woman tie me down
And I'll never get too old to get around
I wanna die along the hi-way and rot away
Like some old hi-line pole
And rest this Ramblin' Fever in my soul
That is completely absurd! It's not their ticket if you endorse the back of it. BEARER INSTRUMENT.
I want to win like every other player but not that desperate that I would buy lottery tickets as stalking stuffers and endorse them before I distribute them. My family and friends are not SHELL CORPORATIONS that house my assets - lol!
VenomV12, the above is not a good "GIFT" to give to someone. It essentially would indicate that if the ticket won the minimum prize of $2, or so, that you would be requiring half of that to go to you. $1 is a cheap gift of you indeed!!!
To extend this line of thinking if you, VenomV12, gave someone a "gift" of a watch, it shouldn't be exciting OR well received by them if the receiver then turns the watch over to read your name engraved into the back side!!!
Such a bizarre, unhelpful, insulting, and unreasonable behavior would probably soon end what ever thin relationship existed between two people. I think you should cease this practice from now on.
Did you go to school?
The analogy of a watch compared to a lottery ticket that is capable of winning millions is completely offbase.
If you give a watch as a gift there is no reason to engrave your name on the back, there is no chance of it producing vast sums of money in the future. I am pretty sure a $150 Seiko is not going to end up being worth $20 million anytime in the future.
And to answer the question of signing the back of the ticket to the others, you know there is room on the back for more than one signature. I sign it, they sign it also and if anyone gives me tickets and I make them sign it also even if they don't want to. It keeps everyone honest and there are no bad feelings.
It is idiotic to suggest that if someone wins $2 I am going to ask for $1 back. For one, the small prizes, usually under $500, can be cashed without having to go to the lottery office anyway and without signature verification so that is not even an issue.
I have lived long enough on this earth to know not to trust human beings. It is nice to assume that if you gave someone a ticket and they won millions that they would be good people and share some of the winnings with you. The reality is that 9 out of 10 times they won't. This method also keeps your sanity so that you don't sit up at night agonizing over the fact that you bought the once in a lifetime winning ticket and gave it away and now you have nothing.
I bought a ticket for the Powerball today with my brother and we both signed it. If it wins, we split the money evenly, end of story, no arguments, no issues.
We all come on this board because we play the lottery and want to win it, don't tell me that if you gave someone a ticket and it won millions and then they told you to take a hike and were giving you nothing you would just shrug your shoulders and walk away, you would be livid and would smash everything in sight.
Meh. Reverse the roles and the ruling would be the reverse, too.
if i got a ticket with someones name on the back , as a present, id tear it up infront of them, save any dramas later.
as to the what would i do if the ticket won?
it only ever cost me $5 or what ever, im only ever down $5. actually its rather a cheap present. If i was to resent someone winning i wouldnt buy them a ticket., period.
Do you have family members sign over half their future earnings if you give money as a gift just in case they end up rich as a result of that gift?
Can you say CHEAPSKATE?
I agree 100 percent . What a moron ....
the only thing worse than joining a lottery pool is buying a lottery ticket and give it to someone as a gift. if you sign it before you gift it you look like a cheap chump. if you don't sign it and it wins, and the recipient doesn't give you a slice (at least 45%) then you will feel like a chump. it is by far the worst gift you could ever give anyone (stocking stuffers or whatever) just give them the cash and let them buy their own ticket if you must.
seems to be a lot of heated opinion on the buy a ticket as a gift subject. and although i do do it, I put their name on the back.
i gotta say who is right in any of this? people have their opionins and values, and we all think ours are right. for venom the right thing to do is what he does., for me the right thing is what I do, and for Faber the right thing is give cash.
lets not get caught in absolutes, for ea of us there is acceptable and unacceptable. as long as we make it clear when people cross the line in our lives. well all get along.
I don't know what state you live in, but in Texas, they will only pay out to one individual, or actually cut one check. They will not split a payout among 2 or more people.
If you are afraid a ticket you give away will be a winner, might as well not give it away in the first place.
Ah so you want part of the winnings in the gifts you give? I don't know about your family or pastor but I wouldn't want to be part of any of that. Its sneaky and down right dishonest. You want to appear generous so you pretend to give only you're not giving.
Anyways the Florida guy who was denied the jackpot is just being greedy. Without evidence that the two have been buying tickets together and planned to share the jp should they win, his story has no legs to stand on. I'm glad the judge sent out this powerful message to the parasites out there lurking in the shadows and waiting.
Had to comment on this one...
With that kind of thinking, why do you just NOT give lottery tickets away to begin with?
This guy must be taught the idea of goodwill - doing a good thing and expecting no direct benefits from it and being totally cool about it. I mean, why bother giving gifts if you are so sleepless and stressful that those gifts might benefit others and you won't be able to cash in. Wow and I thought I have problems.
Ya know B$Rizzle...I have to agree with you on that one.....How pathetic can one person be if they give a gift with strings....Going to do that on xmas gifts,wedding gifts, birthdays, valentines, anniversaries, retirements, graduations ????.....Talk about GORMLESSS !!!!!!
"had been trying to get Browning to leave her Geneva farmhouse for some time and eventually evicted him, Sessums said. She later sold the house."
It is hard as hell to get someone to leave your home or move out! Especially when they are unemployed, have been unemployed, and really don't intend on working. I feel her pain. I gave a person a place to stay temporarily while they look for a place due to water damage at their previous home. Well weeks turned into months till finally in a heated argument they tell me " you can't put me out because I have been residing here for 3 months, so the law won't make me leave. I know if I had hit a jackpot while he was around he would have sued me also.
If you gave me a ticket with your name signed on the back and it won a major jackpot, I would most likely
let you watch me soak the ticket in lighter fluid and set the ticket on fire.
As far as I'm concerned you are either giving me a gift or not.
Bottom line, it would be better if you just stuck to giving greeting cards and gift cards.
I'll have to remember that lighter fluid trick, next time I find a big winning ticket with my Indian giver friend's autograph on the back.
You are too nice.
Had that been me, they would still be wondering where all of their stuff is.
I would have had all of the utilities temporarily turned off and stayed with a friend or in a hotel until they left.
Try living in a place with no electricity, no water, no gas, and everytime you look up all your stuff has been shipped off to goodwill.
Yes, I will give your stuff away and could care less about you being mad.
I will ramble through all your stuff and pawn anything of value.
I will invite friends over and tell them to allow the kids to trash all of your stuff.
I will adopt a cat and let it use everything you own as a litter box.
The way I see it, if you are bold enough to tell me I can't put you out, I'm bold enough to be your host from the deepest pit of hades.
And if none of the above works, I will saturate everything you own in........
BLEACH
AMMONIA &
LYE
Then I will drunk as a skunk and throw your naked azz out in the yard for the police to arrest you for public intoxication and for being naked in public.
Yes I am psychotic enough to do all of this and more and never spend a minute in jail.
If it happened in new york state the judge would have giving her half the money and half if his testacials also .
I swear you're one of my ex-wives.
Alabama May, is that you?
no.......
just off my meds and a little hungry.......
I will give the shirt off my back if necessary, but I draw the line when folks start smelling their drawers.
Cross me when everything in the universe is lined up just right, and you'll give your heart to GOD cause your azz will belong to me.
Ungratefulness & ingratitude is uncalled for and should not be tolerated.
Bad enough we gotta deal with greed everytime we turn around.
I suspect that Mr. Browning was screwed over.
I also suspect that Mr. Browning represented himself in court. Couldn't afford a lawyer.
I believe him when he said they agreed that if either ever won they would share the winnings.
I suspect that promise was made during the salad days of the relationship when they were in LUV......
Keep in mind these two have been living together for 16 years.
How ironic Ms. Poirier couldn't get Mr. Browning out of her farmhouse for some time, yet she managed to evict him after winning her million dollars.
I wonder how long she sat on that ticket before cashing it in. I bet she started trying to get rid of Browning when she realized she won a million bucks.
When did she win the million dollars? Recently or in 2007?
Ugh, sign a gift? Seriously? Then it's not a gift, is it? lol
LOL Good for her, I love this judge, he really knows how to handle a case!
It's pretty funny to see yet another "family values" Republican who doesn't believe in staying married to the one person. Shades of Newtie the loser, Mr. "Free Love."
Personally, I would never dream of divorcing my wife. If I won the lottery, it would a privledge to share everything with that gorgeous woman.
Of course, like the President of the United States, we're stable people. We just don't talk about family. We live it.
That said, I can see why some people need to dump their spouses.
I'm sure though that all your wives couldn't wait to get free.
Good for them.
I hope one of them wins the lottery, although from the sounds of it, they're already winners.
That way, if my cash-gifted friend/relative/acquaintance chooses to use some or all of the cash I gave them to buy lottery ticket(s), and one or all of those tickets win lottery $$s, then they won't be required to tell me. Nor will I conjecture that any sudden wealth I hear of OR see coming from their direction was related to my small, prior cash gift. I will, thus, be able to sleep without painful or uncomfortable thought in regards to that person for the remainder of my days.
Hey! The schmuckster is back for more abuse!
How ya been, schmuck?
Let's see now, what area did you need abuse in this time?
Oh! Your exciting life being with the same woman for your whole life! Well, I can explain that one pretty easy, schmuck. It's all pretty academic. See, I can tell by listening to you that you're just a whining, hand-wringing, boring, liberal schmuck and that tells me pretty much why you've been with one woman all your life. And the reason for that is because like most liberal asswipe men, you tend to look like Allen Colmes. LOL, sorry schmuckster but you know it's the truth. And if you've seen him lately, you know he's not aging very well so best not to go out sniffin' around if you know what I mean, schmuckster. Stay where you're at. Copy? You Allen Colmes types ain't really in very high demand right now if you catch my drift, schmuckster.
Now, what else was there?
Oh yes! You said you and the little woman were stable people. Well that's good news schmuckster cuz I got a few stalls in the barn that need mucking out if you two wanna make a few bucks. Have your old lady wear her maid's outfit, I get a kick out of that. Oh, and remember to tell her to leave her hair down and I'll show her that "Ride 'em Cowboy" thing I was tellin her about. While you're mucking out the stalls.
Now is there anything else I can help you with?
Let me know cuz you know I'm here for you, schmuckie.
We all are.
Then you should not give tickets as gifts. When you give someone a gift, it is theirs, not yours. You're buying it for them. Maybe you should warn others, because your kind of thinking can cause violence!
But a far better way of hitting the lottery is to become a union boss, congress person, or president of the US. Forget the systems....just learn how to tell people what they want to hear! I dislike politicians as much as I hate lottery pools, so here's to hoping my numbers roll for either Powerball or Mega Millions (hey, I am not choosy...$20 mil is just as good as $190 mil, although the latter would be better and the best of the two).