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Judge rules in favor of St. Petersburg man who refused to pay 2020 election bet

Trump supporter Sean Hynes and Biden supporter Jeffrey Costa bet $100 on who would win the 2020 presidential election. When Trump lost, Hynes refused to pay and Costa sued.
 
The final campaign debate between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden takes place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020.
The final campaign debate between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden takes place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020. [ YURI GRIPAS | Abaca Press ]
Published Feb. 4, 2022|Updated Feb. 4, 2022

A Pinellas County judge has dismissed a lawsuit centered on a 2020 presidential election wager, ruling that the bet was illegal in Georgia, where the plaintiff resided, as well as void under Florida law.

The saga started in November 2020, when St. Petersburg resident Sean Hynes and an acquaintance, Jeffrey Costa of Atlanta, agreed to a $100 wager on the presidential election. Hynes bet on Donald Trump, and Costa put his money on Joe Biden.

However, after Biden was declared the winner, Hynes refused to pay up. So Costa decided to sue in December 2020, asking for the $100 from the bet, plus $250 in court fees and $300 in interest.

In March 2021, the two parties settled the dispute in mediation. Hynes agreed to pay the bet, plus $215 in court costs. The agreement also stipulated that if the election results were overturned by Sept. 10, 2021, Costa would pay Hynes $207.50.

In late April, Hynes still had not given Costa the $315 agreed on during mediation, and the court ordered Hynes to pay the settlement and fill out a small-claims form and return it to Costa. In September, when Hynes still had not filled out the form, Judge Edwin B. Jagger threatened to hold him in contempt of court — punishable by fines and incarceration. The judge set a court date of Nov. 1, by which time, the judge said, Hynes would be required to explain why he had failed to fill out the form, and why he should not be held in contempt of court.

In response, Hynes filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed based on his claim that election wagering is illegal in Costa’s home state of Georgia. In an Oct. 28 cover letter, Hynes pleaded with Jagger, asking the judge to delay the Nov. 1 court date if the case was not dismissed because Hynes said his father was in the ICU.

“As I sit here watching my father in ICU, I question the value of life,” Hynes wrote. “Pardon the drama, but I believe this case has gone far enough, wasted enough resources and needs to be put to rest, as we all value more important things in life.”

Hynes further questioned Costa’s reasoning for filing the lawsuit.

“While I may be ‘liable’, the approach has been immoral and is not about the money, the plaintiff does not need it,” Hynes wrote. “It’s about Ego.”

Jagger agreed with Hynes’ assertion that the election wager had been illegal under Georgia law and, furthermore, was “of no effect under Florida law, and generally contrary to the public policy of the state.” The judge subsequently dismissed the case on Jan. 27.

Costa did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Hynes told the Tampa Bay Times that he was happy to hear the lawsuit had been dismissed. He said he discovered Georgia’s laws while doing his own research, and he encouraged others who had been sued to search for information that could help them.

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Hynes said he would have eventually paid the bet if Costa had been patient, but he wanted to wait “for the smoke to clear” around the election results. Hynes said he was shocked when he first heard about the litigation.

“I was flabbergasted,” he said.

The litigation unnecessarily used up time and money, as well as ruining what friendship the two had, Hynes said.

“A colossal waste of time,” he later added.