Kristen Moriarty will finally receive her jackpot after a months-long legal battle over the unpaid prize. A letter filed in a Travis County District Court has settled the high-profile lawsuit involving the Texas Lottery Commission.
As previously reported by Texas Scorecard, Moriarty filed a lawsuit against the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) and Sergio Rey—the commission’s acting deputy executive director—for not paying out her $83.5 million jackpot three months after she reportedly filed a winner’s claim with the commission.
Moriarty’s jackpot was reportedly withheld because the winning ticket was purchased through Jackpocket, a third-party reseller and subsidiary of DraftKings. State officials questioned the legality of such services, prompting TLC to delay the payout amid the investigation.
The letter—submitted by the Office of the Attorney General—serves as an enforceable Rule 11 agreement and is a “full resolution and settlement” of the lawsuit. Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure allows for parties in a lawsuit to enter into a written agreement on any subject matter of the case.
The agreement makes clear that TLC’s payment is not an “admission of fault, wrongdoing, responsibility, or liability on the part of TLC or Rey.”
Under the agreement, Moriarty will receive the cash value jackpot of $45,889,188.92.
Upon winning the lottery, one must choose between receiving a diminished “lump sum payment” or “annuity payments” of the total jackpot. In this case, Moriarty is receiving the cash value (lump sum) payment, which amounts to roughly 55 percent of the total jackpot.
TLC is required to transfer 76 percent of that amount (roughly $34.8 million) directly to her attorneys’ trust account. The remaining 24 percent (roughly $11 million) will be withheld and sent to the Internal Revenue Service under lottery tax rules.
In exchange for the payment, Moriarty agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice—meaning the case is permanently closed and cannot be filed again.
She also agreed to waive, release, and discharge Rey and TLC (along with its past or present officers, directors, employees, agents, and attorneys) from any present or future claims tied to the Feb. 17 Lotto Texas drawing.
The resolution of this case ties up another loose end created by the TLC’s extra-legislative expansion of the lottery, allowing online play. Moriarty, who was by all accounts an innocent player, faced months of delay and was forced to pursue litigation because the Texas lottery undermined itself.
A separate case involving the Texas Lottery is ongoing in the state’s newly established Business Courts, involving a $95 million jackpot claimed by Rook TX, a New Jersey-based company accused of misrepresenting its date of formation and ultimately rigging the lottery.
This led Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to describe the Texas Lottery as “probably the biggest money laundering scheme in the country.”
Neither party’s attorneys responded to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment in time for publication.
If you or anyone you know has information regarding court actions or cases relevant to Texans, contact our tip line: scorecardtips@protonmail.com.
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