TAVARES -- Lake County real-estate executive Neil Fischer, also the co-owner of Triangle Aviation, has sued a business rival, accusing Sunair Aviation owner Brian Sapp of slander and conspiring to file a false police report.

Prosecutors recently dropped criminal charges that accused Fischer, 52, of using his airplane to assault and stalk Keith Franklin, a Sunair employee. Franklin also is named as a defendant in the slander suit

In the lawsuit, a copy of which Fischer's lawyer Derek Schroth provided to the Orlando Sentinel, Fischer says Sapp, Franklin and Sapp's sister and Sunair Aviation's secretary, Robin Woods, maliciously filed a false police report "in an effort to impugn Mr. Fischer and his [competing] company, Triangle Aviation . . ."

The lawsuit says Fischer incurred legal fees to defend himself against the "frivolous charges" and suffered unspecified damages because of Sapp, Woods and Franklin, who is described as a convicted felon.

The trio could not be reached through Sunair.

A voice-mail message left for Sapp was not returned.

Fischer was identified as the pilot of a small aircraft that on May 6 drove within five feet of a golf cart driven by Franklin, who told police investigators that he was in fear for his life. Prosecutors said that proving Franklin was afraid would be "challenging at best" because he waited 11 days before contacting Leesburg police.

The lawsuit hints that Fischer might seek punitive damages and might sue Leesburg.

Schroth said the city was not yet included as a defendant because Florida law requires that a municipality be given notice prior to any filing.