A lottery winner from Surrey in Metro Vancouver, Mandeed Singh Maan, has won $2 million in the lottery. He was then sued by his co-workers, who claimed that he was part of an informal lottery syndicate with them. But Maan won, as the lottery syndicate was infrequent and irregular, and the plaintiffs failed to prove their case.

In a high-stakes legal battle that captured the attention of Metro Vancouver, a truck driver from Surrey, British Columbia, has been cleared to keep his $2 million lottery winnings. The ruling, delivered Monday by Justice Liliane Bantourakis, determined that Mandeep Singh Maan is under no legal obligation to share his BC/49 jackpot with four coworkers who claimed entitlement to a share of the prize.

Maan's good fortune came in August 2023 when he won the life-changing jackpot. Initially, he kept his win private, but the secret unraveled when his photograph appeared on the BC Lottery Corporation's website, proudly holding a $2 million check. This revelation prompted his co-workers - Sukhjinder Singh Sidhu, Balvinder Kaur Nagar, Jeevan Pedan, and Binipal Singh Sanghera - to demand a fifth of the winnings, claiming they had participated in a lottery syndicate with Maan.

An informal arrangement, not a legal obligation

The plaintiffs argued that Maan had been part of an informal ticket-pooling arrangement that dated back to 2021. According to them, they regularly bought tickets together as a group and had contributed funds to purchase tickets, including the one that clinched the jackpot.

However, Justice Bantourakis found the evidence presented by the plaintiffs insufficient to prove their claims. "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," she noted in her ruling.

WhatsApp records submitted in court revealed only 16 instances of group lottery purchases over a span of 14 months, suggesting the arrangement was irregular and sporadic. Furthermore, BC Lottery records confirmed that the winning ticket was purchased at a Chevron gas station for $12, with no indication of a group purchase.

Inconsistent testimonies

The case suffered further setbacks for the plaintiffs when one of their key testimonies was deemed unreliable. Justice Bantourakis found inconsistencies in the account of a plaintiff who claimed to have given Maan money to buy tickets, undermining the credibility of their claims.

"The fact that the parties bought lottery tickets together, even if they did so with frequency, is not sufficient to discharge the plaintiffs' burden of proving on a balance of probabilities that they entered into a binding oral agreement with the defendant that would give them a claim over the winning ticket," Bantourakis wrote.

No suspicion of wrongdoing

The plaintiffs also suggested Maan's reluctance to share news of his win was suspicious, hinting at guilt or wrongdoing. However, Justice Bantourakis disagreed, describing Maan's behavior as more likely reflecting "understandable, if unfortunate, concern over how his coworkers might react."

Maan's relief was palpable following the ruling. "I'm so relieved right now," he told The Vancouver Sun. "The reputation of my family was on the line."

A new chapter, but the same job

Despite his significant windfall, Maan has chosen to continue working at the Surrey-based freight company where the dispute originated. "I didn't want to run away like a loser or a liar," he explained. For Maan, the decision represents more than just financial security - it's a vindication of his character. The ruling also demonstrates the importance of clear, documented agreements when participating in group lottery pools to avoid similar conflicts in the future.

This case serves as a cautionary tale for lottery enthusiasts across Canada, especially showing the potential pitfalls of informal arrangements in the high-stakes world of jackpot winnings. For Maan, however, it marks the beginning of a brighter, controversy-free future.