The operator of the Texas Lottery, GTECH (now known as IGT) has filed its Response to Petition for Review in the Dawn Nettles case pending before the Texas Supreme Court. Ms. Nettles sued GTECH alleging that it was responsible for language on the Fun 5’s scratch-off ticket that misled her into believing that she would win five times the amount in the Prize Box if her ticket revealed a Money Bag Symbol . The trial court ruled that Ms. Nettles could not sue GTECH because it was immune from suit under the “derivative immunity” doctrine. The Dallas Court of Appeals agreed. Ms. Nettles is asking the Texas Supreme Court to review the court of appeals’ opinion and to rule that GTECH is subject to suit for the decision it made to use language that was misleading. A mass action filed by over 1,000 lottery players in Austin was allowed to go forward by the Austin trial court. The Austin court of appeals agreed that GTECH is not entitled to immunity because it exercised discretion when it made the decision to use the misleading language on the tickets. GTECH is currently asking the Supreme Court to review and reverse that decision. It is unknown how long it will take for the Supreme Court to hand down its decision to grant or not grant review in the two cases.
GTECH Files Response to Nettles’ Petition for Review in Fun 5’s Case
Jun 20