An Ontario woman is taking her ex-boyfriend to court after he moved out without telling her, taking a $6.1-million Lotto 6/49 ticket with him.
On Monday, Denise Robertson filed a statement of claim in a Windsor, Ont., court against, Maurice Thibeault for half the jackpot prize and $500,000 in punitive damages.
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Robertson’s suit accuses Thibeault of breach of trust and unjust enrichment and seeks the roughly $3 million, plus an additional $500,000 in aggravated damages. She is asking that a jury hear her civil suit.
“I think it’s a case that the public has an interest in it, as it’s something that offends a sense of morality and juries are a way to allow the public to decide what is right,” her lawyer, Steven Pickard, said.
Thibeault and Robertson lived together from July 2015 to September 2017 in Chatham, Ont. Robertson said the two routinely bought lottery tickets together as it was their dream to win big and spend the prize as a couple.
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In Robertson’s statement of claim, she said she and Thibeault loved muscle cars and dreamed of purchasing a vehicle each, a large piece of country property near their home in Chatham, and a shop in which they could indulge their shared hobby.
On Sept. 20, 2017, Thibeault bought the lottery ticket that won half the $12-million jackpot, but Robertson said he didn’t tell her. Two days later she said he packed up his belongings and moved out — taking the winning ticket with him.
He then quit his job and tried to claim the cash. But Robertson quickly hired lawyers who were able to get an injunction to freeze the payout until Ontario’s lottery regulator, the OLG, determined the rightful winner.
On Dec. 5, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) said after reviewing the prize claim, it verified that the “ticket in question was purchased by Maurice Thibeault and will proceed to pay him one-half of the prize on or about December 30, 2017.”
He was paid $3 million.
Now the other half is in a legal battle, which a lottery spokesperson said would be paid to the court pending a decision in the case.
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Global News reached out to Thibeault ‘s lawyer, Richard Pollock, who said he has no intention of paying anything to Robertson.
“Mr. Thibeault said there was never any agreement between him and Ms. Robertson,” Pollock said. “He has co-operated fully with OLG including offering a polygraphic examination. He submitted to one and passed with flying colours.”
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“What’s at stake is here is his good name,” Pollock said. “And since he won his ticket, the OLG promised a piece of mind to a lottery winning prize winner, and that has not cut the mustard.”
Thibeault and his lawyer have 20 days to file a statement of defence.
It took may take two to three years for the case head to court, according to Robertson’s lawyer.
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