Lawsuit Dismissed Against Area Activist

Developer Plans to File Another Claim

A county judge last week dismissed a lawsuit accusing community activist Wayne Goldstein of damaging the reputation of developer Aris Mardirossian, but made clear that Mardirossian could file a new lawsuit if he could provide more details of the allegations.

Mardirossian said after the hearing Friday that he "absolutely" would file another suit. Circuit Court Judge Durke Thompson said the dismissed suit seemed short on facts that could persuade him to let the case go forward.

"My concern is whether you have enough to complain," Thompson told Mardirossian's attorney.

Mardirossian sued Goldstein, president of Montgomery Preservation Inc. and head of the Montgomery County Civic Federation, after Goldstein wrote to Mardirossian to ask about a rumor that the developer planned to cut trees on property on River Road to create a view of the Potomac. The land is near the home of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, who in 2005 reached a settlement with the county's planning agency after being cited for tree cutting on property near the Potomac.

In court filings, Mardirossian, who plans to develop the former Crown Farm in Gaithersburg, said Goldstein, whose organizations monitor historic preservation and land use, had made "wrongful and malicious publication of false and incendiary information that impugned the integrity and reputation of" Mardirossian. He asked for $700,000 in damages.

According to court papers, Goldstein sent a letter to Mardirossian inquiring about whether Mardirossian had made plans to cut trees on the property, saying that his group had concerns about preservation of the area, which is near the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

In the letter last year to Mardirossian, Goldstein cited the case involving Snyder, in which Snyder agreed to pay $37,000 toward forest conservation elsewhere in the county, replant trees he cut down and place several acres in a permanent conservation easement.

Mardirossian said in court documents that the letter "was widely circulated throughout the Montgomery County business community; to the citizens of Montgomery County" and to government agencies and people who did business with Mardirossian.

Goldstein's attorney Richard S. O'Connor told the judge that the lawsuit was "frivolous and intended to intimidate and harass" Goldstein.

"It seeks to impede Mr. Goldstein's First Amendment rights to comment or oppose future" developments or other matters involving Mardirossian, he argued. He also tried to convince the judge that a state law barring "slap suits" meant the case should be thrown out, but Thompson said he would not use that law as the basis for dismissing the case.

Paul Mark Sandler, who is representing Mardirossian, disputed O'Connor's view and said his client had been harmed by Goldstein's letter.