Court sides with Brewers in $13,000 raffle prize dispute with couple
By Mariana La Roche
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KENOSHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Kenosha couple suing the Brewers Community Foundation over a disputed $13,000 50/50 raffle prize has lost another legal battle.
An appeals court announced it would not reconsider its decision that the foundation has sole discretion in awarding the prize.
Matt and Annette Flynn have been fighting to claim the 50/50 raffle from a July 7, 2023, game at American Family Field.
The Flynns purchased their tickets in the ballpark parking lot, where half the proceeds go to the Brewers Community Foundation and the other half to the winning ticket holder.
The couple said they could not see the scoreboard from their seats and missed the winning number when it was drawn. By the time they checked the number on their phone and ran to claim the prize, the team said they were too late.
Surveillance video shows Annette Flynn running through the concourses to claim the prize. She said an usher first directed her to the main level instead of the loge level, where she was supposed to go.
“I caught my breath, and then I proceeded to walk up 57 steps to the second floor. Out of breath completely, I get to the table upstairs, two gentlemen are there, I show them my phone and my ticket, and I said, ‘I’m the winner, Bob downstairs sent me up here.’ He looks back at the TV screen, and he says, ‘Oh no, you weren’t here on time. We called another number,'” Annette Flynn said.
Under the rules in place at the time, winners had just six outs to reach a specific location in the ballpark to claim the prize. Organizers said Annette Flynn missed the deadline by about a minute. The Brewers Community Foundation timeline shows it waited 15 seconds after the final out before posting another winning number.
The Flynns filed suit in small claims court challenging the Brewers’ timeline. The State Appeals Court ruled the timing of Annette Flynn’s arrival was irrelevant because the raffle rules state the foundation has sole discretion in awarding the prize. The court announced it would not reconsider that decision.
“Gives them the luxury of denying anyone for any reason because they have ‘sole discretion.’ And our attempt now is to have them take it off of there,” Matt Flynn said.
The Brewers Community Foundation has since changed the raffle rules, giving winners 30 days to claim their prize instead of the previous six-out deadline.
The Flynns said the Brewers offered to settle the case, but the offer included a gag order they objected to. The Brewers did not respond to a request for comment.
The Flynns have said they may take their case to the state Supreme Court.
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