Whittaker
CHARLESTON - A lawsuit involving Powerball winner Jack Whittaker and City National Bank recently was dismissed after both parties worked out an agreement.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom dismissed the case. There were originally two lawsuits, filed by City National Bank and Whittaker, respectively, after Whittaker claimed $49,000 was stolen from one of his accounts at the bank.
Whittaker claimed 12 of his checks were stolen and cashed at City National Bank branches in West Virginia and Kentucky. City National filed a suit Jan. 19, claiming it was not liable for the stolen checks.
According to the complaint, the checks had Whittaker's mechanically reproduced signature, and most had his driver's license number on them.
The complaint also said that Whittaker "wants to stress that City National wasn't at fault," but he still wanted reimbursement.
Whittaker filed a counter-suit Jan. 22 in Raleigh Circuit Court, claiming the bank was negligent in cashing the checks, which ranged from $2,200 to $7,200.
Whittaker's problem became public after he failed to pay a settlement to Kitti French, after she sued him for assault and battery while working at Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center.
French filed a suit again after Whittaker failed to pay. Whittaker wrote French a letter, claiming, "On 9-11 a team of crooks went to 12 diff. City Nat. Banks cashed 12-CKs and got all my money. I intend to pay but can't without any money."
Whittaker won the Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day 2002. The payout then was the largest undivided prize in U.S. history. He took the lump sum of the $315 million winnings, which was $113 million after taxes.
He has been in the public eye since then for several incidents, including drunken driving charges, the death of his granddaughter from a drug overdose, the death of an 18-year-old man who was found in Whittaker's home, bounced checks at prominent locations, and assault charges.