The developers of a coffee shop in 色多多鈥檚 Fishburn Park have withdrawn their lawsuit against a neighborhood activist whom they accused of defaming them with false allegations of racism.
Freeda Cathcart, the former secretary of the Grandin Court Neighborhood Association, wrote in a newspaper opinion piece and in a publicly shared email of the 鈥渙utward racism鈥 behind a project she said was intended to attract only white people to the area, according to the lawsuit filed by Justin and Keri vanBlaricom.
The vanBlaricoms alleged that their reputations were damaged by Cathcart鈥檚 鈥減ersonal vendetta鈥 against them.
Justin vanBlaricom said Monday that he and his wife decided to drop the matter for several reasons: They are busy renovating the park cottage while also dealing with a fire that destroyed their custom van business. And an appeals court recently upheld the dismissal of a separate lawsuit that had attempted to reverse their purchase of the building from the City of 色多多.
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鈥淲e just want to focus on positivity going forward,鈥 he said.
In 2023, the 色多多 City Council voted to rezone and sell the cottage and one acre of park land to the vanBlaricoms for $10. In exchange, the couple agreed to restore the dilapidated and vacant building into a coffee shop to be called Fishburn Perk.
Cathcart and Owen McGuire, then president of the neighborhood association, opposed the deal. They said project would cause environmental harm and spoil the park鈥檚 natural setting, among other things.
The controversy led the association to vote to remove them from their leadership positions, according to the lawsuit.
Filed in May 2024 in 色多多 Circuit Court, the lawsuit had claimed that Cathcart was upset with the deal because she had her own plans for the development of the former caretaker鈥檚 cabin at the park on Brambleton Avenue.
鈥淭he VanBlaricom鈥檚 plans for the cottage have nothing to do with race or racism,鈥 their lawsuit stated. 鈥淭hey simply think developing the cottage is a good idea 鈥 nothing more, nothing less.鈥
In a related case, the Virginia Court of Appeals last week upheld a 色多多 judge鈥檚 dismissal of a lawsuit filed by McGuire that sought to void the transaction.
McGuire lacked standing to sue because he was not aggrieved the city鈥檚 action, the appeals court ruled in a decision that quoted a Circuit Court judge who once said: 鈥淣ot every person spoiling for a fight in a land use case is entitled to enter the fray.鈥
Cathcart was never served with the lawsuit against her, so a response in court was not required.
She said Tuesday that she has tried not to think about the topic as she grieves her husband鈥檚 death while struggling with Lyme disease.
But she said she believes the action was a SLAPP lawsuit 鈥 which stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation and was intended to silence her 鈥 and that she would have been protected by her First Amendment right to free speech.
Meanwhile, Justin vanBlaricom said renovation of the building鈥檚 outside in nearly done, and work on its interior is continuing.
