An Arkansas judge on Tuesday resolved a dispute between a worker and his boss over a $500,000 lottery scratch-off ticket by ordering the prize to be split 50/50, according to The Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
The contentious situation began when Jose Quinteros sued his employee, Jorge Rivera Palma, claiming that Palma had withheld Quinteros’ share of the lottery winnings. Quinteros asserted that he and Palma had agreed to evenly divide any prizes from the purchase of four lottery tickets on February 2, 2023.
In contrast, Palma argued that Quinteros had given him money to buy two tickets, while he bought two additional tickets for himself. One of the tickets Palma purchased turned out to be the winning ticket, and he disputed the existence of any agreement to share the winnings.
In November 2023, Benton County Circuit Judge Doug Schrantz mandated that Palma deposit the contested winnings into the court’s registry for safekeeping.
Both Quinteros and Palma concurred that Palma had physically purchased the winning “AR 200X” ticket from a Quick Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, but their accounts diverged after that point. According to Quinteros, both parties had bought the four tickets collectively using previous winnings from jointly purchased tickets. After scratching the tickets, Palma allegedly asked Quinteros to bring the winning ticket to his home so he could show it to his nephew, Marco Corado Erazo, who was also mentioned in the lawsuit.
As per the lawsuit, Quinteros drove to Palma’s house and handed over the ticket, then waited in his car for its return, which never occurred. When Quinteros called Palma from his car, Palma assured him that they would cash the ticket in the morning in Little Rock. However, when Quinteros went back to Palma’s house the next morning, Palma was nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit claimed that Palma had his nephew, Erazo, cash the ticket. Palma told Quinteros he would provide his share when the winnings came through, but this never happened, according to the lawsuit.
Quinteros sued for breach of agreement, joint venture, and deceit. On Tuesday, Judge Xollie Duncan of Benton County court ruled that a joint venture had existed between Quinteros and Palma, thus awarding Quinteros half of the winnings. This decision translated into Quinteros receiving $177,750, with the total prize amounting to $355,500 after taxes.
Quinteros’ lawyer, Aaron Cash, expressed satisfaction with the judge’s ruling, stating, “We always believed our client was in a joint venture and are satisfied with the judge’s ruling.”
