Family Members Settle Suit Over Lottery Ticket
A bitter family dispute over ownership of a $12.6-million lottery ticket has ended in a confidential settlement following two days of trial testimony, attorneys said Thursday.
Attorney Tom Malcolm, who represented Nicole Markham in the dispute involving her husband, Brian Markham, and her mother-in-law, Joan Markham, said the family members agreed to keep terms of the settlement confidential. Milford Dahl, attorney for Joan Markham, confirmed the settlement.
The emotionally charged legal battle began last July when Joan Markham, a British citizen who lives in South County, filed a lawsuit contending she was coerced out of her 1994 California lottery winnings by her son and his wife. Joan Markham said in the suit that her son used $10 he owed her to buy the winning ticket.
In a counter suit, Nicole Markham alleged her estranged husband was the real winner of the lottery, and that he was conspiring with his mother to cheat her out of her fair share of the winnings in their pending divorce.
Testimony in the Orange County Superior Court trial began Tuesday. The settlement was reached late Wednesday.
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