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PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A judge has frozen half of a $1.2-million, chase-the-ace jackpot at the centre of a lawsuit between a Nova Scotia woman and her nephew.

Barbara Reddick has sued her nephew Tyrone MacInnis after the $1.2-million grand prize of a charity fundraiser in rural Cape Breton was divided between the two, leaving them each with $611,319.50.

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Reddick has said she put MacInnis’s name on the ticket for good luck and agreed to split the money if they won the consolation prize — but not the jackpot.

Reddick has sued MacInnis in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Port Hawkesbury.

Lawyers for both parties said that on Monday Justice Patrick Murray granted a preservation order freezing MacInnis’s winnings until the case is resolved.

Reddick’s lawyer, Adam Rodgers, says the two sides have agreed to a Sept. 17 settlement conference.

Candee McCarthy, who represents MacInnis, says she had expected the preservation order to be granted.

“The test for the preservation order was a very low one for Ms. Reddick to meet — whether there was a triable issue, that the claim isn’t on its face frivolous or vexatious. So it wasn’t a surprising outcome,” said McCarthy.