Father Awarded $1.2-Million Jackpot by Jury Won’t Give Any to 7 Children

A man awarded a $1.2-million lottery jackpot by a jury says he has only one plan so far for the money--he is not giving any to his children.

“I’d rather give it to charity,” said Ernest Dureault, 54, after a Superior Court jury ruled this week that his son had reneged on an agreement to turn over the winnings to him. The jury awarded Dureault the entire 1983 jackpot.

Dureault said his seven children have not spoken to him in four years because of the dispute.

During the trial, Dureault charged that his son Bruce took advantage of his alcoholism by convincing him that he would lose some of his winnings unless he let his son turn in the winning ticket. The younger Dureault then refused to give him the money, his father charged.

Ernest Dureault had said that he gave his daughter-in-law, Nancy, $5 to buy five tickets and that the winning numbers were his. But Bruce and Nancy Dureault testified that Ernest Dureault was not involved in the ticket purchase and that there was no agreement to give him any of the earnings.

The jackpot is worth $46,000 a year for 20 years.

The jury found that Bruce Dureault had exerted “undue influence” on his father and that there was an agreement for the son to hold the proceeds for the father.