The upcoming hearing will focus mainly on employment-related claims. The judge is not expected to decide who gets the jackpot money just yet.
How the $12.8 Million Lottery Dispute Started
According to Circle K's lawsuit, a customer visited the company's store near 56th Street and Bell Road to purchase tickets for Arizona's "The Pick" lottery game.
A store employee reportedly printed $85 worth of tickets, but the customer purchased only $60 worth. The remaining 25 tickets were left unsold.
The next day, Gawlitza allegedly discovered that one of those leftover tickets matched the winning numbers.
Circle K claims Gawlitza clocked out, changed out of his uniform, and asked another employee to process the remaining tickets for $10. The winning ticket was included in that purchase.
Gawlitza maintains that he followed the store's usual practices when purchasing leftover lottery tickets.
Conflicting Claims Over Store Policy
Circle K argues that Arizona administrative rules give retailers ownership of lottery tickets that are accidentally printed but never sold.
However, Gawlitza's attorney, Josh Kolsrud, says the company had an informal policy requiring employees to purchase accidentally printed tickets worth more than $20. According to the attorney, this policy was intended to hold workers financially responsible for printing mistakes.
Kolsrud argues that Gawlitza followed the rules by clocking out, purchasing the tickets, and obtaining a receipt.
The winning ticket was worth approximately $12.8 million, and Gawlitza had reportedly planned to split the jackpot equally with a former co-worker.
Circle K fired him after discovering he held the winning ticket, according to Gawlitza.
Text Messages Could Play an Important Role
Employment attorney Joshua Carden, who is not involved in the case, said text messages could support Gawlitza's account.
According to Carden, Gawlitza contacted his supervisor before purchasing the leftover tickets and received permission to do so.
The messages reportedly show that the manager asked whether he could buy the tickets and received approval.
Carden believes Circle K's position may have changed after the company learned that one of those tickets had won millions.
What Arizona's Employment Laws Say
Arizona follows an at-will employment system, meaning companies can generally terminate employees for almost any reason.
However, employers cannot legally fire workers for certain protected reasons, including discrimination based on race, gender, religion, or disability, or for legally protected whistleblowing.
Carden explained that firing someone simply because they won the lottery would not automatically qualify as an illegal termination.
The judge will now consider whether Gawlitza has presented enough evidence for his wrongful termination and other employment claims to proceed.
Who Will Get the $13 Million?
Circle K filed its lawsuit earlier this year, asking the court to determine whether the winning ticket was legally purchased. Gawlitza has responded with several counterclaims against the company, including wrongful termination.
A judge previously approved Circle K's request to extend the ticket's expiration deadline because it was originally scheduled to expire on May 23.
For now, the Arizona Lottery is holding the $12.8 million prize until the court resolves the ownership dispute.
The biggest question remains: Does the jackpot belong to Gawlitza, Circle K, or someone else? The court will ultimately have to settle that question, regardless of what happens with the employment claims.
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