State: Group Can't Use Litchfield NH Fire Department's Name

The Secretary of State's office has reversed its initial ruling on a Litchfield man's application to register an organization under the trade name "Litchfield Fire Rescue" — the same name the town's fire department has been using for decades.

Tim Kearns, a former Litchfield firefighter, notified town officials two weeks ago that he had been granted the registered trade name and that Litchfield must cease using it and remove the sign from its fire station. The town quickly appealed to the Secretary of State's office, where officials realized they had approved Kearns' application in error.

The state receives and approves many trade name registration requests from town-sanctioned volunteer fire departments, Assistant Secretary of State Adam Schroadter said, and staff in the Secretary of State's office initially mistook Kearns' request for one of those.

"The first filing he tried to make was for Supporters of the Litchfield Fire Department," Schroadter said, but that application was rejected on a technicality. Kearns had written that "education" was part of the organization's mission, but any entity that claims to be an education provider must receive approval from the Department of Education.

The words "fire" and "rescue" don't require any such approval.

"Hindsight is 20/20, but in the scope of the initial filing and the appearance that he was a friend of the fire department, or even a member of the fire department, the trade name was approved," Schroadter said.

Neither Kearns nor Litchfield town officials responded to requests for comment.

In the past, state law required that anyone registering a trade name had to obtain consent from any existing entities with substantially similar names. But in 2016, a new law removed that requirement in an effort to make it easier for businesses to form in New Hampshire.

Under the new standard, known as "distinguishable upon the record," "it's as easy as adding a word onto something or changing the spelling of something," Schroadter said.

There is, however, a separate provision of state law that specifically prohibits the registration of trade names that are indistinguishable from the name of a government agency.

Going forward, the Secretary of State's office will require a town's written permission before registering a trade name for any entity with a name that suggests it is working for or on behalf of the town, Schroadter said.

———

Visit The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) at www.unionleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.