The jackpot of Powerball is now at $1.5 billion, but the elation of hitting the top prize is anticipated to turn into malicious lawsuits in the future. Published reports discussed previous filed cases which were eventually dismissed pertaining to winning the prize. In this regard, New York State Gaming Commission came up with tips to consider for keeping conflicts out in the office pool.
The Fiscal Times mentioned that two bakery workers in Chicago sued co-workers after they were left out of winning office pool. Another suit was filed by a man in Ohio who was on a medical leave when his co-worker did not chip him in, as he claimed that it has been a routine for them. Both cases were eventually dismissed. The report added that a group of New Jersey construction workers won $20 million from a colleague who claimed the winning ticket was his personal one and not one he bought on behalf of the office pool.
In this regard, related report noted things to consider in terms of preventing future issues as suggested by the New York State Gaming Commission. First, elect someone to be responsible for collecting and keeping track of the contributed money. Second, the collector and keeper should maintain a list of all participants.
Further, the New York State Gaming Commission mentioned in The Fiscal Times to make a decision of who will buy, where, and when the ticket should be bought. Another consideration is by making a copy for the states lottery commission in order to check the limits on how many checks can be issued for one prize. A practice which one of the Powerball's player, Victor Walker, does is by making a copy of all the tickets, Fox Boston reported.
Due to the various lawsuits after winning the jackpot, attorney Stephen Katz said in the related report, "These lawsuits have happened in every state. We now have 44 states that participate in Powerball, and in the major states, these lawsuits are a dime a dozen." He added that co-workers involved in lottery pools need to draw up an agreement, get signatures, make copies and send e-mails. He also said to make sure everyone has the chance to be included.
