Their number's up.

Defendant-newspaper published a string of numbers which participants in its "Scratch n' Match" daily game were to scratch off on their game cards, potentially revealing prizes up to the sum of $100,000. The game's official rules were printed on the reverse side of each game card. The following day, the newspaper published a notice saying that the numbers had been mistaken. Relying on the incorrect numbers, though, several participants claimed to have won the $100,000 prize.

Pursuant to the contest's rules, the newspaper then conducted a random drawing from among those claimants to determine the actual winner. The Second Department dismissed the losers' suit, in Sargent v. New York Daily News, which was decided on July 17, 2007.

The court noted that the rules contained a provision stating, "[i]f due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded for any prize level per the above, the intended prizes will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received for that prize level." The rules also provided that, "[i]n no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded." The rules set forth how many prizes at each prize level would be awarded each week, and specified that there was to be one $100,000 prize awarded weekly. The rules further provided that "[i]n the event of printing, production or other error, or the distribution of an irregular game card occurs," the newspaper would not be liable. Finally, the rules specified that participants agreed to be bound by the official rules.

The court cited hornbook law that contest rules constitute a contract offer and that a participant's entry into the contest constitutes an acceptance of that offer, including all of its terms and conditions.