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Woman who tossed $1M lotto ticket wants money

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by freeatlast, May 21, 2012.

  1. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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  2. Jon-Marc

    Jon-Marc New Member

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    If she tossed the ticket in the trash and someone else found it, then it belongs to the one who found it. Once something is thrown away, it no longer belongs to the one who tossed it--at least, that's the way it should be--unless it was still on her property. Did the person who found the ticket come onto the woman's property and search her trash? If so, then she was trespassing and isn't entitled to the money. If the ticket was not on the woman's property, then it was fair game for whoever found it. How can the original owner of the ticket prove it was hers? She can do that only if it was taken from her trash on her property, and her fingerprints are on the ticket.
     
    #2 Jon-Marc, May 22, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: May 22, 2012
  3. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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    Yes Jon I agree. I feel sorry for her, but the judge is wrong. If no one had ever found the ticket the money would have been forfeited. The person finding the ticket is not responsible to track down the person who threw it away and hand it over. If the lady can prove her story as to why she threw it away, which was she claimed the machine falsely said it was not a winner, then the state should have to pay her also as their machine was faulty and the cause of it being thrown into the trash, but the person finding it should not be penalized for what this woman did or the state's faulty machine
     
  4. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    That article seems to leave out the facts of exactly how the 2nd woman found and cashed in the ticket, as well as how she found out it was a winner-- not the least circumstance of which is whether she knew it was a big winner, and if that if why she went through trash (who's and where?) to retrieve it.

    I thought at first this would be a case of "unjust enrichment," which I remember from Business Law is a legal fiction to keep a person from profiting substantially from another person who didn't know he or she had something of value the other person used to obtain money or benefits. That was illustrated by a simple story of someone having a great recipe which he or she gives to someone else who requests it, then the receipient markets the recipe profitably. The first person, whose original recipe it was, can then claim part of that profit based on unjust enrichment. While I'm not a jurist, this theory seems to contradict other aspects of legal proceedings; such as, judges have been known to include in their opinions that they can't award damages "just because I feel sorry for you" or "it didn't seem fair" if there is no definitive obligation.

    But this case does not seem to be one of those type, but rather about the one who apparently was victimized by false information claiming everything, while some of the pertinent facts are left out of the article.
     
  5. TC

    TC Active Member
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    It is my understanding that all stores that sell lottery tickets also have a ticket scanner - with a trash can next to the scanner. People scan and then toss the losing tickets in the trash. It is possible that she was scanning multiple (shocking, I know) tickets and simply missed one and threw it in the trash can with the rest of her losing tickets and then walked away. If so, the finder is now the ticket owner and gets the prize - the tosser gave up ownership when she threw the ticket into the public trash can.
     
  6. freeatlast

    freeatlast New Member

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    Her claim is that she scanned the ticket and the scanner said it was not a winner so she chucked it. None the less she chucked it and it is no longer hers. If she can prove a faulty scan then i think the state should pay her also, but not take money from the person who dug it out of the trash and redeemed it. My understanding, never having bought one, is that the tickets all say on the back that they are bearer tickets, not purchaser tickets.
     
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