A Mayo Lotto syndicate won its Supreme Court appeal to retain its 2001 Lotto winnings among four of its members, not five.
Previously a High Court order ruled that a fifth man — Martin Horan of Carragown, Bohola, Castlebar — was entitled to a share of the €2 million prize. Horan claimed that he was a member of the syndicate, however the syndicate — Frank O’Reilly, Michael McHale, John Joyce and Seamus O’Brien from Ballyvary — claimed that Mr Horan had fallen into arrears.
Mr Horan claimed he had been allowed fall into arrears and the syndicate leader Seamus O’Brien had agreed to pay his contribution. The High Court ruled in his favour because of this arrangement but the Supreme Court overturned that decision and ruled that Mr Horan was not a member of the syndicate when the winning ticket was bought.
The court found that the stake for the winning ticket had been reduced by £1.50 and that the original agreement only permitted those who had paid their stake to share the winnings and it could not be changed without agreement from all members. Costs for the High Court and Supreme Court hearings wentagainst Mr Horan.
