[Editor's note: The following is the verbatim text of a statement released Tuesday by the Peachtree City law firm of Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey.]

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.