Courts / Galway / Report
Woman wants to sue former lottery operator over alleged advice on €3.3m win
Summary
Mary Walsh has applied to the High Court for permission to sue An Post National Lottery Company, which is in liquidation, alleging negligence regarding advice given on her €3.3m Lotto win. The application before Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington is opposed. Mrs Walsh claims a lottery representative advised that gifts to others should be exempt from tax if those persons signed the winning ticket. She alleges she was not informed of the full implications, leading her and five others, including her stepson David Walsh and her late husband's nephew Kevin Black, to sign the ticket. This resulted in litigation against her. The company argues the application should have been filed when proceedings began in 2016 and that the claim is bound to fail given a prior High Court judgment critical of Mrs Walsh. Counsel for Mrs Walsh, John Shortt SC, argued she should be allowed to bring the claim after changing solicitors. The judge reserved her decision. In the underlying dispute, Mr Justice Humphreys ruled in 2017 that David Walsh was entitled to a one-sixth share of the ticket, ordering Mrs Walsh to pay him €560,000 plus costs. Mrs Walsh appealed, but in 2018 the Court of Appeal was informed the action was resolved entirely, with her appeal allowed as part of a settlement. Mrs Walsh had claimed David Walsh accepted her and her late husband Peter Walsh's house in lieu of €200,000, a claim he denied.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Woman wants to sue former lottery operator over alleged advice on €3.3m win. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- January 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2020-06-18 Publication
Why: Represented by John Shortt SC appearing with Martin Durack BL, Mrs Walsh seeks permission from the High Court to sue the former operator, which she requires because that firm is in liquidation. CNI source report
Case subjects
Applicant
Outcome: She claimed that David Walsh was offered and accepted her and her late husband's house in lieu of €200,000 from the win.
Applicant
Applicant
Outcome: She claimed that David Walsh was offered and accepted her and her late husband's house in lieu of €200,000 from the win.
Applicant
Outcome: She claimed that David Walsh was offered and accepted her and her late husband's house in lieu of €200,000 from the win.
Places mentioned
- High Court
- Court of Appeal
Topics
Related court reports
- Men jailed over €415k cannabis grow houses in Galway
- Drug dealer gets suspended sentence after judge notes '61 people on mattresses in prison'
- Defence Force member given suspended sentence for assault of garda
- Judge tells DJ Carey custodial sentence for cancer fraud 'inevitable'
- DJ Carey cancer fraud hearing delayed as the former hurler awaits hospital bed
- Nine years for bathtub rapist who does not accept jury's verdict
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request