State attorney election lawsuit dismissed on technicalities

The lawsuit filed by former Republican state attorney candidate Thomas Feiter, which alleged a GOP scheme to interfere with the Orange-Osceola Counties’ state attorney race, was dismissed Thursday on two technicalities. The accusations of fraud, bribery and corruption remain unaddressed. Feiter’s request to be added to the November ballot as the Republican candidate for State Attorney was denied — a moot point since ballots were mailed on Sept. 21 to overseas and military voters.  

In a hearing on Monday, Ninth Circuit Court Chief Judge Lisa Munyon had dismissed six counts in the lawsuit for lack of standing. 

In her ruling dismissing the remaining count in the case, Munyon said Feiter had failed to name the Election Canvasing Commission as a party to his lawsuit. The ECC is made up of the governor and two cabinet members who meet on the ninth day after a primary election to certify the results of federal, state and multi-county races, like the state attorney’s election. Feiter named both the Orange County and Osceola County Canvassing Commissions as well as the supervisors of elections for both counties in his lawsuit. 

Munyon said Feiter also missed the deadline to file his lawsuit. Election complaints need to be filed within 10 days of an election being certified. The Election Canvassing Commission certified the Aug. 20 primary election on Aug. 29. That means any complaint would have had to be filed by Sept. 8. Feiter filed his lawsuit on Sept. 10. 

Feiter argued that his filing was still timely under the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which pauses trial proceedings while military personnel are on active duty. Feiter is a Major in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and told VoxPopuli he was on active duty Sept. 9-10, handling a case for the Army. But Munyon disagreed, stating in her final judgment that while she “has the utmost respect for those who serve in our military protecting our freedoms … as no court has applied the SCRA to alter any election deadline, doing so in this instance would run afoul of Florida’s authority to regulate state and local elections …” 

Asked for comment on the dismissal, criminal defense attorney Seth Hyman, one of the many named parties in the lawsuit, responded via email, “justice prevailed.”

"The lawsuit was frivolous and an abuse of the court system,” the email continued. “Thomas Feiter's entire purpose in filing this suit was to create publicity for himself and to help Monique Worrell in the State Attorney's race. Their press conference together on September 9th was a calculated attempt by the Orange County Democratic Party to manipulate this community, spreading lies about illegal conspiracies in order to motivate their base. I believe that this legal action amounted to an attempt at election interference, and justice prevailed.”

Feiter filed his lawsuit in September after going public with allegations that he was offered a judgeship or assistance in campaigning for state legislative office by ranking members of the Orange County and Florida Republican Party to drop out of the state attorney’s race so that State Attorney Andrew Bain would have a clear field against former State Attorney Monique Worrell in Tuesday’s election. 

Feiter refused to drop out. He lost the primary to Hyman, who then dropped out of the race shortly after the primary. Hyman has denied being offered an incentive to bow out. 

In addition to Hyman, Feiter named Bain, attorneys Joshua Grosshans and Jeff Aaron, Orange County GOP chair Erin Huntley, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his chief of staff James Uthmeier, among others. 

Worrell joined Feiter, flanked by members of the Democratic Party, in a joint press conference to announce the lawsuit. 

“The reason that I put so much stock in what he said was because before everything happened, he was saying that this was gonna happen,” Worrell told VoxPopuli in an October interview. “It happened exactly how he said it would happen.”

After the Monday hearing, Feiter told VoxPopuli he had refiled his complaint with the Florida Bar against Hyman for “unethical conduct.”

“Florida lawyers are held to a higher standard,” he said. “We have an oath, and we have a duty of ethics, and we're supposed to have moral compasses. And when we deviate from those ethics and that moral compass, the Florida Bar can take action.”

Feiter told Florida Politics that "this thing is not over," and that he still has grounds for a civil lawsuit.

Meanwhile, at least one attorney is watching to see if DeSantis retaliates against Feiter. 

“We know this governor has a history of engaging in retaliatory action against people he doesn't like,” Dr. Phillips attorney James Smith told VoxPopuli, referring to Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren and Worrell, both of whom DeSantis removed from office. 

"Regardless of where you stand in party affiliation, I think we all support the idea that if someone believes they've witnessed misconduct, they have a right to report it,” Smith said. “And I want people to be vigilant and pay attention to whether or not there's retaliatory action taken against [Feiter]. At the end of the day, this is someone who wears the uniform, serves our country, and all he wanted to do was give members of the Republican Party a voice. What took place in this courtroom was about the law. His concern was about giving the voters voice.”