A waitress receives $10 million lottery ticket tip – a win that turned into a legal and personal nightmare.
What started as a generous tip ended in legal battles, family turmoil, and a tax dispute.
Tonda Dickerson, a waitress at Waffle House in Alabama, thought her life had changed forever when a customer tipped her a winning $10 million lottery ticket. But the windfall came with unexpected challenges.
Tonda Dickerson, a waitress at a Waffle House in Alabama, experienced a shocking turn of events after receiving a unique tip in March 1999.
Regular customer Edward Seward left her a lottery ticket, which, to Dickerson’s surprise, ended up being worth $10 million (around $18.9 million today).
She opted to receive her winnings over 30 years and immediately quit her job, but her good fortune soon became more complicated.
Co-workers demand a share
It turns out that Seward had handed out lottery tickets as tips to four other employees that same day.
After Dickerson’s ticket proved to be the lucky one, her former colleagues demanded a share, citing an oral agreement to split the prize if any of them won.
Dickerson’s co-workers then sued her, aiming to claim part of the $10 million jackpot
Legal battles in court
The lawsuit brought against Dickerson was complex.
FindLaw notes that although Seward didn’t expect to receive any winnings himself, he claimed that the Waffle House staff had promised him a new truck if one of the tickets won.
While Dickerson’s co-workers claimed there was enough evidence to support their demand for a share, Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled otherwise.
Under Alabama law, “a contract founded on a gambling consideration” is void, so Dickerson was allowed to keep her winnings.
A customer’s lawsuit
Despite this victory, Dickerson wasn’t out of legal trouble yet.
Seward, the customer who gave her the winning ticket, also sued her, alleging that she had verbally agreed to share any winnings with her colleagues.
He claimed Dickerson had misrepresented herself by not doing so. However, the court ruled there was no evidence supporting Seward’s allegations, allowing Dickerson to retain the entire prize.
Family troubles follow
Dickerson’s legal challenges took a darker turn two years after her win.
Her ex-husband, Stacy Martin, reportedly kidnapped her and allegedly threatened her life, claiming he intended to kill her.
She managed to escape by injuring Martin and persuading him to seek medical assistance, narrowly avoiding what could have been a tragic outcome.
IRS dispute over tax obligations
Dickerson’s troubles didn’t end with her legal battles and family crisis.
She became involved in a tax dispute with the IRS, which claimed she owed nearly $1 million in “gift taxes” after she set up a business structure to manage her lottery funds, granting her family access to half the stock.
The tax court agreed with the IRS’s view that she owed gift tax but reduced the amount, acknowledging that her involvement in various lawsuits had affected her financial situation.
While Dickerson was ultimately able to keep the bulk of her $10 million winnings, the journey came with significant hardships.
From legal disputes with colleagues and Seward to an IRS tax issue and a frightening family encounter, Dickerson’s life-altering tip led to an unexpectedly turbulent path.