John Cheeks, a Washington DC man, has launched a legal battle against Powerball and the DC Lottery, claiming a $340 million jackpot he believes he rightfully won was denied to him due to a website mistake. Cheeks says that in January 2023, the excitement of potentially being the year’s first multimillionaire quickly turned into a nightmare of disbelief and disappointment when his claim was rejected by lottery officials.
According to Cheeks, the numbers on his ticket, chosen based on family birthdays and other significant personal numbers, matched those listed as winning on the DC Lottery’s website. “I got a little excited, but I didn’t shout, I didn’t scream. I just politely called a friend. I took a picture as he recommended, and that was it. I went to sleep,” Cheeks recounted. This serene moment, however, would soon evolve into a highly contentious legal issue.
Upon attempting to redeem his ticket, Cheeks was met with disbelief. As per court filings, a claims staffer allegedly told him, “Hey, this ticket is no good. Just throw it in the trash can.” Cheeks, maintaining a firm stance, chose instead to secure his ticket in a safe deposit box and contact an attorney.
The lawsuit initiated by Cheeks includes eight separate counts, among them breach of contract, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and fraud. According to court documents filed by Mr. Cheeks’ attorney, Richard Evans, if the winning numbers align with Mr. Cheeks’ numbers, he should receive the “entire jackpot.” Alternatively, Mr. Evans stated that if this is not granted, Mr. Cheeks should be compensated for the “gross negligence” exhibited by the lottery in publishing incorrect lottery numbers.
In a court declaration, Brittany Bailey, the project manager at Taoti, revealed that on January 6, 2023, the company’s quality assurance team was engaged in testing activities related to a modification of time zones on the Powerball website, transitioning from Coordinated Universal Time to Eastern Standard Time.
At 12:09 pm that day, the quality assurance team inadvertently published test Powerball numbers on the live website instead of a separate development environment, which replicates the site but remains inaccessible to the public. Bailey clarified that these test numbers differed from those drawn for the Powerball on January 7, 2023, as they were posted on January 6, a day before the drawing.
Subsequently, on January 8, the erroneous lottery numbers were displayed alongside the actual winning numbers on the DC Lottery website. Upon discovering the mistake on January 9, the Taoti development team promptly removed the inaccurate numbers from the site, as confirmed by Bailey.
Evans, unpersuaded by the claims of a mistake, points to a similar incident in Iowa as precedent, where the lottery admitted a “human reporting error” and allowed temporary winners to collect their prizes. “A mistake was admitted to by a contractor and they paid the winnings out,” Evans cited.
“This lawsuit raises critical questions about the integrity and accountability of lottery operations and the safeguards – or lack thereof – against the type of errors that Powerball and the DC Lottery contend occurred in this case,” Evans stated in a report.
He expressed optimism and affirmed his faith in the justice system, noting the potential life-altering impact the lottery winnings would have had for him and his family. Should he emerge victorious, he intends to establish a home trust bank aimed at aiding prospective homeowners. The upcoming hearing for the case is slated for February 23.
Relevant articles:
– Powerball: US man sues lottery after being told $340m win is error
– US man sues Powerball lottery after being told his apparent $340m win was error, The Guardian US, Sun, 18 Feb 2024 17:58:00 GMT
– Man sues Powerball lottery after being told $340m win was a mistake, The Independent, Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:38:29 GMT
– Powerball player John Cheeks denied $340M lottery jackpot over website ‘mistake’, New York Post, Sun, 18 Feb 2024 07:38:00 GMT