A Milwaukee couple that thought they hit it big in a Brewers Community Foundation 50/50 raffle is walking away empty-handed after a Wisconsin appeals court backed the charity’s call on a disputed winning ticket from American Family Field.
The July 7, 2023 drawing turned on one blunt question: did the original ticket-holder get to the designated loge-level claim table before the cutoff printed in the contest rules? Annette and Matthew Flynn said yes and took the Brewers Community Foundation to small claims court after the charity decided the ticket was not timely presented and paid a different winner instead. On Tuesday, the appeals court said the foundation’s decision stands.
Appeals Court Says Contest Rules Control The Call
In a May 19 opinion, the Court of Appeals focused on the fine print that came with every raffle ticket. The official rules, printed on the back and accepted by anyone who played, “vested the Foundation with the sole discretion to determine” the official winner, the court wrote, and that meant a judge was not going to second-guess the call at the claim table. The panel affirmed summary judgment for the foundation. FindLaw publishes the full opinion, including the timeline the court relied on.
How The Seventh-Inning Mix-Up Played Out
According to the record, the winning number went up on the scoreboard during the seventh inning stretch. The foundation’s internal video timeline placed the ticket-holder away from the loge-level 50/50 table until after the stated cutoff, which the foundation said justified drawing a new winner.
The Flynns told the court they were following directions from stadium staff and argued that the discovery video raised real questions about the exact sequence of events. They also vented their frustration publicly, telling reporters they were so upset they “will never go to another Milwaukee Brewers home game again.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the couple’s reaction.
Evidence Fight Could Not Overcome The Fine Print
Hoping to poke holes in the foundation’s account, the Flynns asked for original video files, timestamps and hash values so an expert could do an independent forensic review. They argued that the clips they received left room for doubt about when, exactly, they reached the claim table.
The appeals panel was not persuaded. It noted that the total 50/50 prize was about $13,000, while the Flynns only sought $10,000, the small-claims cap at the time. More importantly, the judges concluded that wrangling over seconds and minutes would not override the clear terms of the contest rules the couple had agreed to when they bought their ticket. The court’s rationale and the underlying timeline are laid out in the published opinion on FindLaw.
Charity Stakes And What Fans Need To Know
The Brewers Community Foundation 50/50 is not just a between-innings diversion, it is a major fundraiser for local nonprofits. That is part of why the Flynns said the dispute felt like a transparency fight as much as a lost payout.
According to one recent report, the Brewers Community Foundation raised roughly $4.5 million for Wisconsin nonprofits in 2024 and credited the raffle program with a significant share of that total. For fans still willing to play, the club’s ballpark guide lists American Family Field at One Brewers Way and spells out procedures for claiming in-game prizes on MLB.com.
What Comes Next For The Couple
The Flynns say they are reviewing the appellate decision and weighing their options for further review. The court, however, flagged several procedural hurdles, including forfeited statutory arguments that narrowed what they could raise on appeal.
The ruling is a reminder that contest rules can heavily insulate organizers from second-guessing in court unless a challenger can show conduct that falls outside the bounds of the contract or clear bad faith. For now, the appeals court’s opinion stands, and the Brewers Community Foundation’s posted raffle rules remain the controlling measure for any future claims. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the couple’s legal path is now significantly tighter.
