CRYSTAL RIVER – A resident of Crystal River has filed a defamation lawsuit against a New York City law firm and its attorneys claiming it has sustained a smear campaign against him for more than 13 years.

Chassib Kassim Wahab filed the lawsuit in federal court against Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, Dahila B. Doumar, John D. Winter, and Yiling Livia Chen-Josephson, citing allegations of defamation and invasion of privacy.

According to the lawsuit, Wahab says the defendants have conducted a campaign against him for more than 13 years.