You May Not Already Be a Winner
A fast-food chain held a contest with two ways to win a prize: collect designated stamps over time or win a substantial cash prize all at once with an instant winner stamp. Due to a printing error, Jane got a hybrid game stamp that indicated that several other stamps were needed, but it also exclaimed that the holder of the ticket was an '"instant winner!" The restaurant refused to give Jane the prize, thus prompting her to sue.
Jane came up empty-handed. She tried to rely on a state statute that required that a sponsor of a prize promotion give consumers all information necessary to make a decision about the contest. Jane argued that all such information must be on the game piece or stamp itself and that her game stamp did not set out the rules for winning.
The court ruled that a consumer can receive notice of restrictions in a form other than on the game stamp. Here, the official rules of the contest were posted in the restaurant, Jane had a game board that prominently referred to those rules, and Jane had signed a form putting her on notice that compliance with all of the rules was necessary before anyone could be declared a winner. One of the official rules clearly stated that game materials were null and void and would be rejected if they contained errors.
The rules, not the language on the game stamp, constituted the terms for formation of a contract. Jane could not comply with those terms because her defective game stamp was null and void. Because of this lack of compliance, there was no contract, no duty on the restaurant, and no breach of contract. Jane was entitled to her hash browns but not to the cash prize.
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