Circle K Convenience Store
Circle K convenience store sued manager Robert Gawlitza to dispute his ownership of a $12.8 million winning lottery ticket.
Convenience store chain Circle K has filed a lawsuit against one of its managers over his ownership of a $12.8 million winning lottery ticket.
De acordo com a denúncia, o incidente ocorreu em 24 de novembro em uma loja Circle K em Scottsdale onde o gerente Robert Gawlitza estava de plantão. A customer asked to check the numbers in the Arizona Lottery’s “The Pick” game. A máquina imprimiu $85 on $1 ticketsbut the customer only paid $60 and left 25 tickets on the counter.
Later that night, lottery officials announced the winning numbers — 3, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 26 — and one of the unclaimed tickets matched all six numbers, guaranteeing the prize of US$ 12.8 million. O processo alega que Gawlitza soube que o bilhete premiado havia sido impresso em sua loja, mas não vendido, e o procurou entre os ingressos restantes.
The case records state that, after his shift, Gawlitza checked out, took off his uniform and bought the remaining tickets from another employee for $10, including the winning ticket, reports The Independent. Gawlitza then signed the back of the note, an action normally used to prove ownership. When Circle K management became aware of the circumstances, the company ordered that the note be kept at its corporate offices until legal action was taken.
Circle K is now asking a judge to determine whether the ticket was validly sold and who has the legal right to claim the prize. A empresa argumenta que, de acordo com o Código Administrativo do Arizona, os bilhetes de loteria emitidos por um varejista, mas recusados por um cliente continuam sendo propriedade do varejista. Despite citing this rule, Circle K seeks a court ruling to clarify ownership and avoid any ambiguity regarding the right to the prize.
The Arizona Lottery was included in the lawsuit as part of the resolution of the conflicting claims. A spokesperson said the agency is unaware of any previous case in which a retailer and an employee made opposing claims for the same ticket awarded, classifying the situation as “unique”.
claimed within 180 days after the draw or the prize will expire.
