As it often happens in life, large amounts of money are expected to make one’s life easier, but in reality, end up doing more harm. Barbara Reddick and her nephew Tyrone MacInnis who became notoriously known for their legal battle over the Chase the Ace’s jackpot of CA$1.2 million they won last year could confirm this notion. Now the woman from Guysborough, Nova Scotia finally collected her portion of the winnings, but nevertheless, this legal battle will remain one of the most memorable one in the region.
According to the agreement reached in court, Mrs. Reddick will take her half of the jackpot, as well as half of her nephew’s portion of the cash prize. This means that this week she bagged ¾ of the CA$1.2-million jackpot. This left Mr. MacInnis with CA$350,000, while his aunt bagged CA$850,000. July 2018 was a special month for the relatives, as this is when the special event took place, only to take a quick turn for the worse shortly after that.
Legal Feud Divides Relatives
It all started one hot July day when Mrs. Reddick decided she wanted to purchase a lottery ticket for the Chace the Ace game. She gave her nephew CA$100 for the purchase of several tickets, as she wanted to make sure her chances of winning are bigger. In addition to this, Mr. MacInnis purchased his own tickets with his own money, ending up with a bunch of tickets ready for the next lottery draw.
In order to attract good fortune, she told her nephew to place his name on the ticket next to hers. In court, Mrs. Reddick’s lawyer Adam Rodgers of Boudrot Rodgers pointed out that one of her tickets was the winning one, which is why she is eligible for the cash prize. Prior to the purchase or while the lottery draw was taking place the two relatives never considered the opportunity of dividing the cash equally among them.
This scenario never crossed her mind, which is what led to the unpleasant situation. Once she found out that her ticket is the one who could win her CA$1.2 million from the July 11 draw, both of them were soon in the prize claim office to collect the prize. Upon their arrival they were welcomed by two checks, each of them bearing half of the jackpot or CA$611,319.50, but this displeased Mrs. Reddick who disagreed with this arrangement.
Mrs. Riddick Wants to Make Things Right
She claimed that she was eligible for the entire amount of the cash prize and she would take matters to court in order to defend her rights. Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Port Hawkesbury saw the lawsuit filed shortly after that with August 10 seeing the first hearing. Moreover, a motion for preservation was filed so that Mr. MacInnis was rendered unable to spend any of the cash written next to his name on the check.
Mrs. Reddick’s Lawyer stated that the two names written on the ticket are not equally eligible for the cash prize, as the circumstances should also be taken into account. However, reactions to the story and the following legal feud took over the Internet, as more people found out about the apple of discord.
Social media facilitated the process, providing more people with the chance to comment on the lawsuit filed, predominantly criticizing Mrs. Riddick. She saw some of them and felt their negative impact, but her lawyer indicated that she is willing to make amends with her nephew and leave the entire ordeal behind them.
