THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020636
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
When Walter Cole won sole possession of a $9 million Lotto ticket Thursday in Circuit Court, he barely reacted. He smiled and jiggled the toothpick in his mouth.
A dozen relatives were also in the courtroom, but they did not scream in joy when Judge E. Preston Grissom ruled that Cole - not four of Cole's former friends who claimed they also owned the ticket - is entitled to the money.
Even outside the courtroom, Cole was not jubilant over the victory that came after two years of lawsuits. He was dressed for success in a dark suit with red handkerchief, a white cap and white shoes, but he answered questions matter-of-factly, with just a small smile and not much enthusiasm.
The Lottery Department will not release the money until it receives an order from the judge. It was unclear Thursday, however, when that may be issued. The only other thing that could block the jackpot would be an appeal of the judge's decision, and even then Cole might not be blocked from receiving his winnings.
He is now 73. He will get $306,680 a year, after taxes.
Cole said he plans nothing special. ``I've got to just keep going,'' he said. He is a retired longshoreman from Elizabeth City who occasionally mows other people's lawns, and will continue doing so. ``I can't sit still. I'll just keep messing around.''
After the judge's ruling, Cole's family seemed even less excited than Cole. They knew that after lunch, Judge Grissom would hear the next phase of the case: setting the lawyers' fees.
Indeed, the judge spent more time Thursday hearing the lawyers argue over their fees (four hours) than over the Lotto ticket (two hours).
Still, Thursday's ruling markedthe end of a two-year tug-of-war over the Lotto ticket.
Cole bought the ticket in September 1992 at a 7-Eleven in Chesapeake, near the North Carolina line. He was one of six men who regularly pooled their money to buy weekly lottery tickets.
This time, Cole claimed, he bought the six tickets for the group, left the store, then returned a half-hour later to buy his own ticket. That last ticket was the winner.
The lottery computer confirms Cole's account, showing 35 minutes passed between the time Cole bought the group tickets and the winner.
But that was never even an issue in court. The case never reached a jury. Grissom ruled Thursday that, as a matter of law, Cole's four ex-friends had no case. He granted Cole summary judgment.
Grissom ruled that even if there was a pool agreement among the men, it was made in North Carolina and was governed by North Carolina law. There is no lottery in North Carolina, and state law forbids gambling agreements.
North Carolina courts had already decided that issue. Cole won on that issue in a North Carolina trial court in December 1992. The decision was affirmed in April by a North Carolina appeals court and affirmed again in July by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Grissom ruled that if the men's lottery pool was governed by North Carolina law, and if the courts there have already heard Cole's case, then there is nothing left to decide in Virginia.
``There exists no agreement that may be enforced in Virginia,'' Grissom said.
Even if the case had hinged on Virginia law, Grissom added, the agreement between the men - if there was one - could not be enforced. Virginia law also bans gambling contracts, even for the state lottery, Grissom said.
That ruling, if it is upheld by other courts, could mean that lottery pools in Virginia cannot be enforced in court.
The four men who sued Cole did not attend court Thursday. Cole, however, was accompanied by his brother, wife, two sons, two daughters, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters.
As the group filed out of court, Cole politely answered reporters' questions. Behind him, his wife, Adeline, just shook her head, wandered among family and muttered softly, ``Thank God it's over. Thank God.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Walter Cole gambled in court and won a jackpot. His grandson,
Burudi Bembury, 16, is with him.
File photo
Cleveland Hughes, left, James L. Weeks and William Sharpe Jr. and a
fourth man claimed the $9 million winning ticket was part of a
lottery pool that included Walter Cole.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA LOTTERY WINNERS LAWSUIT by CNB