Woman Can Sue Sister Over Alleged Oral Pact to Split $500K Powerball Win

An 83-year-old woman can take her 87-year-old sister to trial over an alleged 1995 oral agreement that they would split the winnings if either one ever hit the jackpot, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled today.

It upheld an intermediate appellate court decision that a trial judge erred in granting a motion to dismiss the 2005 breach-of-contract suit brought by Theresa Sokaitis against Rose Bakaysa after her sister bought a Powerball ticket worth $500,000. And the state's top court said the claimed pact, if proven, would be enforceable, reports the Hartford Courant.

Even though Sokaitis didn't pay Bakaysa any monetary consideration to bind the alleged contract, their mutual promises to each other to share their potential winnings, if established at trial, would nonetheless create a legally enforceable agreement, according to the newspaper.

Attorney William Sweeney Jr., who represents Bakaysa, says he intends to appeal. He argues that the sisters' alleged contract to share their winnings was void under state gambling law and that, even if it was valid, it was revoked when they had a falling-out before his client bought the winning ticket.