Seminole County couple in court over million-dollar jackpot

SANFORD, Fla. — A Seminole County couple took a fight over a winning scratch-off lottery ticket to court on Monday.
 
Lynn Porier, 62, a former Seminole County teacher, won a $1 million jackpot on a Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket in 2007.

Porier’s ex-boyfriend, Howard Browning, said he paid for the ticket after the couple went to dinner and they made a verbal agreement that as long as they were together, they would split the winnings.

"Howard Browning has testified, the first day of trial, that their agreement that he says he had was only effective if they were together," defense attorney Mark Sessums said.

Porier said she bought the ticket at a convenience store after the couple had broken up.

Browning’s daughter testified that she saw Browning give Porier money during dinner on the night the ticket was bought, specifically for the ticket. She also said they had a consistent relationship, even though Porier was engaged to another man.

The lawsuit began in 2008, but was thrown out midtrial by a judge in 2012. An appeal to the Florida Supreme Court sent it back into the Sanford courtroom.

Cox Media Group