This

week Jim Webb and the law firm of Webb, Stuckey

& Lindsey, LLC voluntarily dismissed their

lawsuit against Stephen Brown, Fayette

Publishing, Inc., and Calvin Beverly, the

publisher of The Citizen Newspaper. The dismissal

was filed after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

published an article revealing some of the

underlying facts and circumstances preceding the

publication of Mr. Brown's letters to the editor

which gave rise to the lawsuit. Mr. Webb and WSL

feel the revelations in the Atlanta

Journal-Constitution article vindicated them and

that nothing could be gained by further

litigation.

"The

continuation of this lawsuit is unnecessary since

the un-biased Atlanta Journal-Constitution story

revealed the facts. My partners and I believe

that it is in the best interest of our community

and its citizens to end the litigation. Our

lawsuit was not intended to create a public

controversy but rather was intended to protect

our reputation. Unfortunately the controversy

which followed has only served to distract from

what is good in our community. We will not allow

the continuation of this litigation to serve as a

vehicle for the negative, malicious `dirty

politics' that a few individuals have

orchestrated," said Webb.

The

suit was filed after Mr. Webb and WSL sought a

retraction from Mr. Brown and The Citizen

Newspaper earlier this spring. Mr. Brown's

letters improperly alleged that Mr. Webb had a

conflict of interest as City Attorney because of

his participation on the board of directors of a

new local bank. As Mr. Webb and WSL have

maintained throughout the litigation and the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution article revealed,

the publication of Mr. Brown's letters in The

Citizen was politically motivated. The attack

upon Mr. Webb and WSL was timed to embarrass them

and prevent the reappointment of their law firm

to the position of City Attorney. WSL has served

in this capacity for the past eight years, and

the PTC City Council recently reappointed Richard

Lindsey of WSL to the position thwarting the

letter writer's plot.

The

Atlanta Journal-Constitution story reported that,

in addition to the negative letter writing

campaign of Mr. Brown, there exists a large

number of e-mails written by Mr. Brown and others

which clearly reflect the true impetus for

various letters printed in The Citizen. Mr. Webb

has over 30 e-mails which show that these letters

were politically motivated by a small group of

people with ulterior motives and political

aspirations. "It is unfortunate that in

today's political climate there are those who

would endorse unwarranted character

assassinations on individuals rather than reflect

on the true issues at hand. Peachtree City is

considered one of the greatest places to call

home in the country and a wonderful place to

raise a family. It certainly did not attain this

position by graft and corruption but through

volunteerism, integrity and civic pride,"

concluded Webb.

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