16 May 2023 , 18:38
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A man sued 24 colleagues after they cut him out of a $50million lottery win - as he was on holiday.
Christopher Bates, 54, contacted his lawyers after hearing his co-workers at the Bombardier plant won the mega prize in January 2011.
Each player was awarded more than $1.9million and around $2,500 in interest - but Christopher was denied a slice of the jackpot despite setting up the group.
He told the group: “Okay, if you guys win the lottery, I’m going to sue. My lawyer is going to contact your lawyer."
However, the group argued the pool was based on a "no pay, no play" rule and he was not owed any of the money due to him being away on holiday.
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In addition, the colleagues argued the lottery pool was not a weekly occurrence and instead would only be arranged when the jackpot hit over $30million.
The worker was on holiday when the lottery draw took place (Toronto Star via Getty Images)This led to a number of claims being put forward from workers after multiple employees missed out on the life-changing draw.
However, all of the claims bar two were rejected, as the lottery organisation decided to split the jackpot 26 ways - with two of the shares held by the court until the claims were decided.
A 10-day civil trial to see if Mr Bates, from Ontario, Canada, was entitled to a share started on Monday with lawyers arguing the claimant should be entitled to some of the winnings.
The court heard how Mr Bates asked the group leader Sherif Morsi why he wasn't included in the draw when he found out about their prize.
Christopher Bates leaves University Courthouse at break with his wife (Toronto Star via Getty Images)He demanded to know: "Why didn't you put in for me?".
Mr Morsi claimed another employee still owed him money, which is the reason he didn't put some of the workers in the draw.
Mr Bates' lawyer Michael Cochrane said his client was a regular player and the group members had a duty of faith to include him in the draw.
He said outside the court: "When somebody plays every time for almost a year, and just happens to be away one week, the other members of the group have a duty to that person to treat them fairly. That's all he's asking — 'treat me fairly.'"
However, a settlement was reached on the second day of the trial with the terms of the agreement remaining confidential, according to Saul Glober, the lawyer representing the 24 workers.
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Mr Glober said his clients were happy with the outcome and relieved to have the issue resolved.
Christopher's lawyer Michael issued advice to other lottery pool players in case they end up in a similar situation.
He said: "You need to pay attention. Just throwing $5 in an envelope isn't enough"