Somerville blogger Ron Newman writes that a libel suit brought against him, former Somerville Journal editor Deb Filcman and several others (including anonymous commenters) has been withdrawn.

Newman, who blogs at the LiveJournal forum Davis Square (“Think Globally, Whine Locally”), says that the plaintiff, Jonathan Monsarrat, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, which means Monsarrat can’t refile the suit at a later time.

In a classic case of unintended consequences, Newman’s lawyer, Dan Booth, lays out all of the alleged behavior that led to Monsarrat’s suit in this document (pdf). Scroll down to “Factual Background” for the entertaining stuff.

This is a big victory for local independent media.

Earlier coverage.