Man loses ‘hopeless’ $3.3m Lotto lawsuit in Australia

David Renshaw attempted to sue NSW Lotteries over unclaimed September 1997 Oz Lotto draw ticket winnings.

Australia.- A Sydney man’s ‘hopeless’ lawsuit over an unclaimed AU$3.3million Lotto prize has been dismissed by a judge in New South Wales (NSW).

David Renshaw attempted to sue NSW Lotteries over unclaimed September 1997 Oz Lotto draw ticket winnings, but the judge wasn’t satisfied he’d even bought a ticket.

The NSW Supreme Court action began in 2016 and Mr Renshaw represented himself throughout the duration of the lawsuit.

He claimed that he had bought a ticket from Greenfield Park and presented it at Granville Railway Station news agency following the draw. When he handed in his ticket to the news agency he said he saw the words “provisional winner” come up.

Mr Renshaw then claimed that the shop attendant threw the ticket in the bin, denied that he had won, refused to return the ticket and then eventually locked himself into the office.

Justice Des Fagan said: “Where a price of AU$3.3million is at stake, fabrication is the ready explanation for this impossible story having been told.

“All of the plaintiff’s accounts of having presented his ticket are highly implausible on the face of them. The variations from one purported recollection to the next exacerbate their unreliability.

“I am not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that any of these events occurred.”

Referring to Mr Renshaw’s “irresponsible pursuit of this hopeless claim”, Justice Fagan added that he should pay some of NSW Lotteries’ legal costs.