US man who won $1.35b Mega Millions draw sues his daughter’s mother for telling his parents about the win
The unidentified winner of the second largest Mega Millions jackpot has sued the mother of his daughter for violating their non-disclosure agreement not to tell his parents about his $1.35 billion win.
New court filings revealed the Maine man prizewinner, identified as John Doe, sued the mother of his daughter, identified as Sara Smith, for a six-figure compensation after revealing to his family his new millionaire status.
On Friday, January 13, after three months without a winner, Doe was the lucky gambler who bought the winning Mega Millions ticket – 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61, with a gold Mega Ball of 14 – at Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon, Maine.
He took home his winnings in a one-time payment of $723,564,144 nearly $500 million after taxes. He would have been $52 million richer if he bought a ticket just one mile away over the New Hampshire border.
Shortly after, on February 8, Smith signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep Doe’s identity as the jackpot winner a secret through June 1, 2032, when their daughter turns 18 years old.
The court filing said: ‘Due to the unique safety, security, and privacy concerns associated with winning the lottery, Defendant agreed to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) with John Doe to promote the safety and security of John Doe, Defendant, and their daughter and to avoid the irreparable harm of allowing the media or the public in general to discover, inter alia, John Doe’s identity, physical location, and assets.’
Doe beat the odds of 1 in 302.6 million to win the $1.35 billion jackpot – the second-largest Mega Millions win ever, and the fourth-largest in U.S. history.
The contract also stated that Smith must get written permission from Doe if she were to tell anyone and in the case of ‘an intentional or inadvertent disclosure’ she must provide written notice of what happened.
According to the lawsuit, in September the mystery man learned that Smith disclosed his status to his father and stepmother over one or more telephone communications.
Inadvertently, following Smith’s unauthorized disclosure, Doe’s sister also learned he was the Mega Millions winner.
‘As a result of Defendant’s unauthorized disclosures, John Doe has suffered irreparable injury, and there is immediate and imminent danger that John Doe will continue to suffer irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law,’ said the court filing.
Now, Doe is suing Smith for $100,000 per unauthorized disclosure and is asking the court to put an injunction on Smith to prevent her from violating the non-disclosure agreement any further.
