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ALHAMBRA (CNS) - A judge Friday dismissed the state Lottery Commission as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by a man who maintained he was the winner of the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in 2022, agreeing with the Attorney General's Office that only a holder of a valid ticket may be entitled to a prize.
Neither the plaintiff, Jose Rivera, nor an attorney working on his behalf showed up for Friday's hearing before Alhambra Superior Court Judge William A. Crowfoot, who scheduled a July 25 hearing on whether Rivera should be fined up to $250 for failing to appear.
The Lottery Commission has always maintained that Edwin G. Castro, also a defendant in the Rivera suit, is the proper winner.
In their court papers urging dismissal of the part of the case against the Lottery Commission, the Attorney General's Office argued that Rivera's one claim against the state of declaratory relief should be dismissed because of "well-settled law that prohibits the state lottery from paying on a claim for Powerball lottery winnings without a valid ticket and which bars the state lottery from paying a prize twice."
Any theft of a Powerball ticket should be addressed with law enforcement and the alleged thief, not the state lottery, the Attorney General's Office further argued in its court papers.
In his suit brought in February 2023, Rivera maintains he bought the victorious ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena the day before the Nov. 8, 2022, drawing, but that it was stolen by someone identified only as "Reggie," a co-defendant in the suit, on the same day. In subsequent court papers, Rivera's lawyers identified "Reggie" as Urachi F. Romero.