Lotto winners' bitter feud

Lotto winner Malcolm Rabson's home on SH1 near Paraparaumu. Photo / Herald on Sunday

A couple who split up after winning $1.3 million in Lotto are heading for a courtroom showdown to settle a bitter legal feud.

Malcolm Rabson and former partner Linda Gallagher won the first division prize in 2001 and invested the money in three houses. But Rabson later claimed he had bought the ticket on behalf of a family trust and that his partner had no right to the money.

Two separate judges have ordered Rabson to share the cash with his estranged partner. But Rabson has refused the orders, and is going to the Court of Appeal.

The Paraparaumu man said: "I didn't win Lotto. The trust won it. I know that, the lawyers know that, the other side even knows that. The only person who thinks I won Lotto is the judge.

"If I went out and purchased a 25 cent lemon on behalf of the trust that would be legal. It doesn't have to fit with common sense. It doesn't have to be moral. It just can't be illegal."

But Gallagher's lawyer Nicolette Levy said it was obvious the prize should be shared evenly.

He said: "I don't think you need to be a lawyer to know something like a Lotto ticket is shared relationship property.

"None of these matrimonial cases are happy or clear-cut. They are all sad."

Justice Wild dismissed Rabson's claims and said he could not rely on his testimony. He added that he did not believe he spent $10 of the trust's money on a ticket for the trust's benefit as it was not a "typical trustee investment".

Rabson claimed he did not realise he had won the draw in November 5, 2001, until the following February.

He reportedly returned from a shopping trip to the family's home in Mana, Wellington, to tell his partner about the win and she told him off for not doing the shopping properly.

The case echoes a Lotto feud in Australia that broke out between a New Zealander and two former friends over splitting a $17m lottery win.

A former business partner of Rabson said he used to buy Lotto tickets with him and they had "nothing to do with the trust".

David Hitchens said he and Rabson were close friends and business partners of 14 years until last September.

He said: "He received advice from his lawyer that if he didn't put the winnings in a family trust it wouldn't be protected. He loves to sue. He's an absolute shocker."

Meanwhile, Rabson said a "team" of barristers were preparing what he believed would be a "long, protracted" appeal case.

But his ex-partner's lawyer said it was unlikely the case would make it to the Court of Appeal.

"The decision was already an appeal. He's had one appeal and that's usually all you get."

Rabson is one of two directors of Vision Ltd, a furniture company now in liquidation.