Ct. 1984), is a New York case that arose when Christopher Pando, a deeply religious minor, sought to impose a constructive trust on the proceeds of a winning $2.8 million (21 annual payments; no cash option) ticket that he purchased with Dasyi Fernandez's money.
One of the tickets he bought did in fact win the jackpot, and Pando claims that Mrs. Fernandez's failure to give him 50% of the money constitutes a breach of contract.
The second cause of action seeks a declaratory judgment as to the rights of the parties and an imposition of a constructive trust, along with an accounting of the money already paid out and received.
The court quoted the following statement from the plaintiff's affidavit: Mrs. Fernandez, knowing that I am religious and a strong believer in St. Eleggua asked me, after noticing that the Lotto prize was several million dollars, whether or not I could get my Saint to win the Lottery.
[6]The court stated that the condition precedent for the sharing of the prize is that Pando's "piety and prayer would cause heavenly intervention so that his selections would win," and then asked the question "[h]ow can plaintiff prove on a trial that 'St.
[7] The court noted that at trial Pando would have the ability to testify to his version of what the defendant said to him, that is that he purchased the tickets, selected the numbers and that he prayed.
But the court rhetorically asked "[w]ho is going to provide the proof that his prayers were efficacious, and that the saint caused the numbers to win?"
It is instructive, spiritual, and profound, arrived at not through a coldly logical appraisal of the facts but, in Wordsworth's phrase, by 'a passionate institution.'
1986), the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed the Supreme Court's decision, denying defendant's motion to dismiss and reinstating the complaint, as well as granting the plaintiff's cross motion to direct defendant to comply with all previously ordered discovery within 30 days of the date of the order.
The court says that these versions of the agreement show only that the plaintiff was obligated to use his best efforts to enlist St. Eleggua's help, and that in exchange the defendant would pay for the tickets and split any potential winnings.
Jury ultimately awarded 1/2 of $2.8 million prize to Pando finding that he had entered into a legally binding contract with Ms.