Excluded group lottery winner sues

BARRIE, Ontario, June 6 (UPI) -- A $24.5 million lottery prize is being disputed by a man in Barrie, Ontario, who says his co-workers denied him his share because he was out of the country.

Slawomir Kowalewski, 41, said in a lawsuit he was a regular group player with co-workers at a steel company 70 miles north of Toronto. He said that before leaving for a vacation in Poland in January he offered to pay a co-worker in advance for his share in the Lotto 6/49 draw, but was told to wait until he came home.

One of the group's tickets won the jackpot.

Kowaleski's lawsuit said the co-worker who kept track of players and their payments told him he didn't have a share in the prize.

His claim names 32 people, although only 27 have received their portion of the money in the amount of $772,350 each, the Toronto Star said.

Justice Alfred Stong of the Superior Court of Justice ordered the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission to set aside $3,862,934 until the dispute is settled, the Star said.

Kowalewski's suit also seeks $1,450,000 punitive damages against his former friend who managed the ticket purchases, the report said.