Enforcing a Verbal Contract to Share Lottery Winnings

What if you entered into an oral agreement with someone to share lottery winnings in the event that you won the lottery? That is exactly what occurred between a Florida man, Howard Browning and his former girlfriend, Lynn Anne Poirier. According to Browning, the former couple verbally agreed in 1991 to share lottery winnings with the other if one of them won. In 2007, Poirier hit the jackpot. Instead of honoring their agreement, Poirier had Browning evicted from the home that they had shared for sixteen years. In 2008, Browning sued her for violation of the oral contract, and alleges that he is entitled to $500,000, or one-half of the $1 million, that she won in the lottery.

Statute of Frauds

After a jury started to hear evidence in the case in 2012, a judge threw out the case, and an appeals court subsequently agreed. However, in May 2015, those decisions were reversed by the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled that Browning should have a new trial. The Court reasoned that the agreement to divide any future lottery winnings is not required to be in writing because it could be performed within one year. This decision is in line with the Florida Statute of Frauds, which says that a lawsuit cannot be filed for breach of a contract that cannot be performed within one year unless the contract is in writing.

Nevertheless, there are conflicting accounts as to the status of the relationship at the time that the winning ticket was purchased. According to Browning, he and Poirier had dined together just prior to buying the tickets. Poirier, however, tells a different story. She says that she purchased the winning ticket when they had already separated.

While the plaintiff is ecstatic that the court sided with him, he is concerned that the defendant may have already spent the funds. A jury must now determine whether the couple really entered into an agreement to split the lottery winnings, and if they were still together at the time the defendant won the lottery.

I really have to admire the plaintiff’s persistence in trying to claim his share of the winnings. Many people, I’m sure, would have just chosen to move on if their former significant other reneged on their promise to split the winnings with them.

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