Mar. 13—GEARHART — Three residents who accused the city of defamation in the months after a failed vote on a $14.5 million firehouse bond have dropped their lawsuit.

The lawsuit had asked for $450,000 in damages for Kathleen Zimmerman, $250,000 in damages for her husband, Jack, and $250,000 in damages for Beth Cameron, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence in the city's retention of City Administrator Chad Sweet following a 2020 drunken-driving charge.

The trio were critical of the May bond measure for the new firehouse off Highlands Lane and of the actions of city leadership.

"After careful consideration, my clients have decided to voluntarily dismiss their claims at this juncture, retaining the right to refile," said Mitchell Cogen, an attorney for the Zimmermans and Cameron.

City Attorney Peter Watts said he provided notice to the plaintiffs that he intended to file what is referred to as an anti-SLAPP motion unless they withdrew their lawsuit.

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, anti-SLAPP laws are intended to prevent people from using the courts to intimidate people who are exercising their First Amendment rights.

"The benefit of the anti-SLAPP motion is that it fast-tracks the case and awards the winning party attorney fees and court costs," Watts said.

Cogen acknowledged the impact of anti-SLAPP laws on their decision to file the voluntary dismissal.

"Thus, the plaintiffs are forced to be very cautious and strategic in their approach," he said.

In the lawsuit filed in Circuit Court in December, the Zimmermans and Cameron said that Mayor Kerry Smith, Police Chief Jeff Bowman, then-City Councilor Brent Warren and Sweet formulated an attack against them for their opposition to the firehouse bond measure.

"Defendants were desperate to distract from the horrific beating they had taken at the ballot box and wanted revenge against the Zimmermans," they alleged.

City leaders took security precautions at City Hall after an anonymous letter urged Sweet to step down and what turned out to be a false gun threat at public meetings.

An old Instagram post by Kathleen Zimmerman depicting two pistols, a bottle of scotch and a Bible were reposted on a blog on the city's website.

"Lacking any understanding of the post, they just snatched it for use with diabolical purposes," the lawsuit stated.

Cameron was added to the "defendants' target list along with the Zimmermans," according to the lawsuit, after bypassing city officials and reporting her concerns of gun violence to the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office.

After an investigation, Sheriff Matt Phillips determined the discussion about the threats had been distorted via word-of-mouth and social media.

Neither the Zimmermans nor Cameron ever wanted to be involved in a lawsuit or to harm the community in any way, said Cogen, a resident who has also been critical of city leaders.

"Rather, they would like to see Gearhart progress towards healing the wounds of division and ugliness," he said. "Unfortunately neither the city nor the other defendants expressed any willingness to consider a productive resolution to this dispute, rejecting out-of-hand the common practice of mediation."

Cogen said the Zimmermans and Cameron will continue to gather and evaluate additional evidence and consider next steps.

If the city can provide reasonable explanations for their conduct related to the alleged gun threat, the dispute will be resolved, he said.

"If they had legitimate reasons, why not share them?" Cogen said.