Florida lottery winner back in court for retrial

SANFORD, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A retired Seminole County school teacher is back in court this week, fighting to keep her $1 million dollar lottery win. Her live-in boyfriend at the time, Howard Browning, says the couple had a more than 10 year oral agreement that if either won the lottery, they would split the money. This case went to trial back in 2012, and teacher Lynne Poirer won that case, but the Supreme Court of Florida sent the case back for retrial.

In front of Judge Melanie Chase, Browning took the stand to describe that oral agreement between the two. He even testified that he paid the cash for the winning ticket at an Oviedo convenience store.

“It was her idea that we start buying tickets together, and we would split the winnings together, and we was going to use to fix the place up... I handed Lynn 20 dollars to buy the first ticket.”

Browning told the jury after the drawing just before July 4th, Lynne Poirer disappeared for days. Browning quizzed her when she finally returned.

"She said, 'did you hear?' I said ‘about what? You mean about our lottery ticket?’ I think that’s what I said, ‘about our lottery ticket'? And I said, ‘you know that’s half mine.’ And I asked her and I said 'where is my half of the money?' And she just smiled.”

Browning spent the afternoon answering questions about why he did not split the proceeds from a raffle ticket he bought that won him a new Mustang. The trial is expected to last a week.