A local publicist has dropped her defamation lawsuit against FishbowlDC, a website that covers media news and gossip in Washington. Lawyers for publicist Wendy Gordon and FishbowlDC filed a notice in D.C. Superior Court on Nov. 5 saying they agreed to dismiss the case. In early October, the attorneys reached a settlement and were working out an agreement, according to the case docket. The dismissal notice filed with the court yesterday didn't include any details on a possible settlement. FishbowlDC's lawyer, Mark Bailen of Baker & Hostetler, declined to comment. Gordon's lawyer, David Wachen of Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, could not immediately be reached. Gordon sued FishbowlDC's parent company, WebMediaBrands Inc., along with former FishbowlDC editor Betsy Rothstein and a contributor, in January. Gordon accused the site of engaging in an "unprovoked, online smear campaign" against her. Starting in late 2011, Gordon became the subject of a weekly feature called "Wendy Wednesday," in which FishbowlDC would post a photo of Gordon and, Gordon alleged, "provide a false and humiliating description." FishbowlDC denied the allegations of defamation in its response to the complaint. The website's current editor, Patrick Tutwiler, and a representative of WebMediaBrands, were not immediately reached for comment. Rothstein, who has since left FishbowlDC, declined to comment on how the case was resolved. "I'm really glad it's over," she said.
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