LeMieux v Tri-State Lotto Commission,666A.2d 1170

Facts: Joseph LeMieux, of Maine , won $373,000 in a lottery operated by the Tri-State Lotto Commission.The lottery is sponsored by the three northern New England states and is administered in Vermont.In accordance with its usual payment plan, Tri-State was to pay the $375,000 to LeMieux in annual installments over a twenty-year period.LeMieux assigned his rights to the lottery payments for the years 1996 through 2006 to Singer Freidlander Corp. for the sum of $80,000.LeMieux and Singer Freidlander (the plaintiffs) sought a court judgment authorizing their assignment agreement despite Tri-State's regulation barring the assignment of lottery proceeds.The trial court granted Tri-State's motion for summary judgment.On appeal, the plaintiffs argued that Tri-State's regulation was invalid.

In the case ofWalker v. Rogers,Walker won $ 1,197,790 in the Illinois State Lottery. The prize was payable in 20 annual installments of $ 59,889. In June 1993, Walker entered into a contract with R&P, whereby Walker agreed to assign his right to a $ 30,000 portion of each of the 12 remaining payments to R&P in exchange for a lump-sum payment of $ 135,000.

The Illinois State Lottery statute had the following language:

"No prize, nor any portion of a prize, nor any right of any[***7]person to a prize awarded shall be assignable [(clause one)]. Any prize, or portion thereof remaining unpaid at the death of a prize winner, may be paid to the estate of such deceased prize winner, or to the trustee under a revocable living trust..."

Question for discussion:Was the assignment invalid?Discuss fully and contrast with Walkerv. Roger.