Lawsuit over $315 million lottery jackpot goes to trial

Tuesday, June 06, 2006 posted 09:57 AM EDT

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A lab technician's lawsuit seeking a share of the $315 million Mega Millions multi-state lottery jackpot divvied up by seven co-workers will go to trial.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner on Monday set an April 2 trial date for Jonathan De La Cruz's lawsuit against the seven winners.

De La Cruz said he had been part of the group that bought lottery tickets, but was off the day they bought the winning ticket. His lawsuit, filed in December, contends the group had an oral agreement that everyone would be included whenever they pooled money to buy tickets.

The winners - six lab technicians and a receptionist at the Kaiser Permanente medical office in Garden Grove - rejected De La Cruz's claims.

They said it was the first time they had bought tickets together, and that it had been almost a year since any of them had pooled money with De La Cruz.

The Nov. 15 jackpot was the second largest in state history and one of the largest in the United States.

The winners, who each put in $3 for 21 tickets, opted for a lump-sum payment and each received about $21 million.

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