| Indiana Man Cheated Out of $11.5 Million Dollar Jackpot | | | | was originally filed in Marion County Indiana but was |
| Charles Andrews, a 70 year old retired chemist, is | | | | transferred to federal court at the insistence of the |
| suing a convenience store chain for over $11 million | | | | Speedway Corporation, the owners of the store. |
| dollars claiming he was cheated out of a huge lottery | | | | Andrew's suit accuses the Speedway store of breach |
| jackpot after an employee at the store refused to sell | | | | of contract and negligence and seeks damages of |
| him a lottery ticket. In his lawsuit Andrews claims he | | | | $11.5 million dollars, the size of the jackpot, and punitive |
| picked the winning numbers for a Hoosier lottery | | | | damages. |
| drawing in February 2008. He states that a clerk at the | | | | Speedway SuperAmerica LLC is arguing that they |
| store refused to sell him a lottery ticket minutes before | | | | were under no obligation to sell the lottery ticket and |
| the official sales cutoff at 10:40 PM. Andrews said that | | | | are questioning Andrew's version of events. Andrew's |
| the clerk told him the lottery terminal was not working | | | | attorneys are trying to access store security videos. A |
| and later printed out a list of winning numbers which | | | | Hoosier lottery spokesman said that lottery retailers |
| proved the lottery terminal was actually working. The | | | | can set their own hours for selling tickets as long as |
| clerk told Andrews that the manager did not like to sell | | | | they stop selling by the 10:40 PM cutoff time. Lottery |
| any lottery tickets after 10 PM and said that other | | | | spokeswoman Lucia Anderson stated, "It's up to the |
| store employees also refused to sell him a ticket. One | | | | individual retail location." One of Andrew's lawyers said |
| of Andrew's lawyers, Bob Burkett, stated, "They had | | | | the law is not clear and stated, "There is no statute |
| an obligation to issue him a ticket because he was | | | | addressing the retail hours and whether they can set it |
| there before 10:40." | | | | or not set it." One of Andrew's lawyers, Josh Brown |
| Andrews is disabled and as a result could not get to | | | | said that the agreement between the lottery and |
| another store on time and signed his play slip and left it | | | | retailers requires stores that sell lottery tickets to post |
| at the store so he would have proof in case his | | | | game and date lists and believes that it should include |
| numbers were winning ones. Andrews stated, "I knew | | | | hours of play. |
| if I walked out the door with the pay slip and I won any | | | | This will be an interesting case to follow. The results of |
| money at all with those numbers I couldn't prove that | | | | this case may force lottery retailers to clearly state |
| was the pay slip I left with the employees." Andrew's | | | | their hours of operation. Hopefully Mr. Andrews will be |
| lawyers are arguing that the store was legally obliged | | | | awarded the jackpot he was cheated out of by an |
| to sell him a ticket up to the official cutoff time. The suit | | | | indolent clerk. |