N.H. Reform Party to Sue Over Name Use by Buchanan Camp

The Reform Party of New Hampshire announced Sunday it will sue Patrick J. Buchanan’s presidential campaign for $10 million, alleging wrongful use of its name in a recent mailing to the group’s members.

John Talbott, the group’s acting state chairman, said he also will contact the U.S. attorney’s office to seek federal mail fraud charges against Buchanan Reform, the name of Buchanan’s national campaign.

Buchanan will not be personally named in the lawsuit, he said.

Talbott said a pamphlet mailed by Buchanan’s campaign promoted an April 1 meeting in Manchester as the Reform Party’s state convention.

The mailing said participants would elect delegates to the party’s national convention, he said.

Talbott said the state party has scheduled no such event, and the Buchanan campaign does not have the authority to use the party’s name or elect state delegates for the Reform Party.

Shelly Uscinski, chairwoman of the New England office of Buchanan Reform, and Neil Bernstein, a spokesman for Buchanan’s national campaign, did not immediately return telephone calls for comment Sunday.