Maine’s $1B lottery winner asks to drop privacy lawsuit against ex
Maine Lottery Winner Drops Lawsuit Against Ex‑Partner After Appeals Court Denies Closed Trial
LEBANON, ME – The man who hit the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot in February 2023 has withdrawn the lawsuit he filed against his former partner, following a ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a federal judge’s decision to keep the case open to the public.
The ticket that produced the record‑shattering prize was sold at a convenience store in Lebanon, a small town in York County, in February 2023. The winner, who has remained anonymous by using the name “John Doe” in court filings, claimed the money through a Delaware‑registered limited liability company. He was required to keep his identity confidential by a non‑disclosure agreement (NDA) that also covered the safety of his minor child.
In November 2023, Doe sued his former partner, a licensed emergency‑room nurse whom he has called “Sara Smith” in court documents. He sought at least $100,000 in damages, alleging that Smith violated the NDA by revealing his identity. Smith denied the claims, arguing that the lawsuit was an attempt to undermine her position in a child‑custody dispute. Her attorney, Peter Brann, warned that the defendant could file a new lawsuit if the original motion to dismiss was rejected, saying, “Which means that they can turn around and file another baseless lawsuit against the defendant tomorrow… It should never have been filed to begin with.”
Judge John Woodcock of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine denied Doe’s motion to seal case records and to use pseudonyms at trial after the Maine Trust for Local News intervened on behalf of public access. The judge cited First Amendment protections of open court and historic common‑law traditions. Doe’s attorneys had hoped the court would grant a closed trial to protect his and his family’s safety, but the judge declined.
The case reached the First Circuit in Boston, which issued its opinion on Tuesday. Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson wrote that the district court had acted within its discretion and that the plaintiff’s privacy concerns could not override the public’s right to observe judicial proceedings. She noted that the plaintiff’s arguments, including the claim that the judge had ruled against him simply because he was wealthy, were unpersuasive. “We can well appreciate some of Doe’s concerns—certainly, we respect his worries about his family’s safety lest his identity be unveiled,” Thompson wrote. She added a humorous note, referring to herself as “Judge Roe” in a brief aside.
Doe’s attorneys, Louise Aponte and Gregory Brown, filed a motion to dismiss the suit on Monday, less than 24 hours before the appellate opinion was released. They said the lawsuit was now a “Catch 22”: even if the court ruled in Doe’s favor, the publicity surrounding the case would expose his identity and the safety of his child, the very outcome he sought to avoid. After deposing Smith, they were “reasonably satisfied that Defendant’s breaches, as identified in that deposition, can be mitigated to protect the privacy and safety of Plaintiff and his minor child.” The motion was therefore withdrawn.
Smith’s counsel has until Oct. 5 to respond to the motion to dismiss. The case will remain on file pending the judge’s approval.
The story underscores the tension between individual privacy rights and the public’s right to view court proceedings. While Doe’s legal team sought to keep the matter out of the public eye, the courts ultimately upheld the principle that trials must be open to scrutiny—unless there is a compelling, constitutionally grounded reason not to.
(Source: Maine Press Herald)
