NASHVILLE (AP) - A lawsuit filed by a former Tennessee Republican party official that accused two high-ranking fellow Republicans of defaming his reputation has been thrown out.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/MLB64C ) is reporting that Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joe Binkley Jr. has dismissed the 3-year-old lawsuit brought by Mark Winslow. Winslow, a former state GOP staffer, sued U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Chip Saltsman, a former chair of the state Republican Party.

Winslow claimed that Fleischmann obtained confidential documents from the state GOP office related to his severance pay and then turned around and used the information in TV ads against Winslow's former boss, Robin Smith. Smith had unsuccessfully challenged Fleischmann in the 2010 primary.

Winslow's lawyer, Nashville attorney Gary Blackburn, said he will appeal the ruling.