The anonymous winner of the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot has sued his daughter’s mother for breaching their non-disclosure agreement by informing his parents about his $1.35 billion win.
According to fresh court records, the Maine man prizewinner, identified as John Doe, sued the mother of his daughter, Sara Smith, for a six-figure sum after announcing his new wealthy status to his family.
Doe was the lucky gambler who bought the winning Mega Millions ticket – 30, 43, 45, 46, and 61, with a gold Mega Ball of 14 – at Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon, Maine, on Friday, January 13, after three months without a winner.
He received his winnings in the form of a one-time payment of $723,564,144, or approximately $500 million after taxes. He would have been $52 million richer if he had purchased a ticket only one mile away, over the border in New Hampshire.
Shortly after, on February 8, Smith signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep Doe’s name as the jackpot winner hidden until June 1, 2032, when their daughter reaches the age of 18.
The court filing said: ‘Due to the unique safety, security, and privacy concerns associated with winning the lottery, Defendant agreed to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) with John Doe to promote the safety and security of John Doe, Defendant, and their daughter and to avoid the irreparable harm of allowing the media or the public in general to discover, inter alia, John Doe’s identity, physical location, and assets.’
Doe outperformed the odds of 1 in 302.6 million to win the $1.35 billion jackpot, the second-largest Mega Millions win in history and the fourth-largest in US history.
The contract also stated that Smith needed to obtain written authorization from Doe before telling anyone, and that in the instance of ‘deliberate or inadvertent disclosure,’ she needed to submit written notice of what happened.
According to the lawsuit, the mysterious man discovered in September that Smith had disclosed his status to his father and stepmother over one or more telephone conversations.
Inadvertently, Doe’s sister learnt he was the Mega Millions winner as a result of Smith’s improper revelation.
‘As a result of Defendant’s unauthorized disclosures, John Doe has suffered irreparable injury, and there is immediate and imminent danger that John Doe will continue to suffer irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law,’ said the court filing.
Doe is now suing Smith for $100,000 per unlawful disclosure and requesting that the court issue an injunction to prevent Smith from breaking the non-disclosure agreement any further.