A life-changing lottery win for a Surrey man ended up in the BC Supreme Court after his coworkers sued him for a share of the $2 million jackpot.
Mandeep Maan was taken to court by his former colleagues Balvinder Kaur Nagra, Sukhjinder Singh Sidhu, Binipal Singh Sanghera and Jeevan Pedan over his windfall from the BC/49 draw held on August 17, 2022.
“Winning the lottery should be a happy event. In this case, sadly, it has ruined relationships,” said Justice Liliane Bantourakis in the reasons for judgment handed down last week.
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Maan, Nagra, Sidhu, Sanghera, and Pedan worked together in 2022 at a freight and warehousing company, where they formed a workplace lotto pool.
The five coworkers pooled money to buy lottery tickets from at least 2021 to 2022, though the person in charge of buying the group’s tickets changed constantly. There was no written agreement for the workplace lottery pool, and the only records are several WhatsApp messages and about 16 photos of tickets.
“No one person was responsible for group lottery ticket purchases and the decision on who would buy the tickets for any given week or day was made from purchase to purchase, spontaneously and as the need arose,” reads the decision.
Maan learned on August 18, 2022, that the $6 BC/49 ticket he bought at Town Pantry on 88th Avenue in Langley won him $2 million. However, he did not tell his coworkers about the win.
“Instead, they learned of his win 11 days later when a photo of him holding a two-million-dollar BCLC cheque was posted online.”
At the time, Maan shared with BCLC that he started shaking in his truck when he learned he had won the jackpot.
“I told my wife and she started crying. She woke up our kids, and they started crying as well – at first, they thought something bad happened,” he said in a previous statement.
BCLC
Nagra, Sidhu, Sanghera, and Pedan initially congratulated Maan on his win. However, they filed their Notice of Civil Claim about two weeks after becoming suspicious of the circumstances.
The four colleagues claimed that Maan used group funds to buy lottery tickets for the BC/49 draw on August 15, 2022, and one of the tickets won the jackpot.
However, Maan claims that he did not receive any funds from the group for that day and denies that he was buying for the pool. He also explained that he was a regular lottery player on his own.
“This case turns largely on credibility,” writes Justice Bantourakis. “The parties’ interactions leading up to and after the winning ticket purchase are disputed, the alleged lottery pool agreement was not set out in writing and the documentary record is sparse.”
Bantourakis explained in the decision that “it is likely” Maan used a free play for a Lotto Max ticket and spent $12 for a variety of BC/49 and Lotto 6/49 tickets plus Extras.
BCLC
The Justice added that Maan’s $12 purchase was not consistent with a typical group lottery ticket purchase, which was generally for $50 plus any additional tickets bought with precious wins or free plays.
“I find that if Mr. Maan had been using group money or tickets, or otherwise buying for the group, the total amount spent on Lottomax, Lotto 6/49, and/or BC/49 tickets while he was at the Chevron station would likely have been significantly more than the $12 documented in the BCLC records. I find that the $12 amount is more consistent with an individual purchase.
“Though the plaintiffs may feel that they have a moral entitlement to a share of the winnings, they have not established any legal entitlement. Their claim is therefore dismissed.”