Dempsey v. Tynan

• Decision Date: 10 February 1956
• Citation: 120 A.2d 700,143 Conn. 202
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: James M. DEMPSEY v. John J. TYNAN, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Page 700

120 A.2d 700

143 Conn. 202

James M. DEMPSEY v. John J. TYNAN, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

Feb. 10, 1956.

Louis Weinstein, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom, on the brief, was John J. Bracken, Atty. Gen., for appellant-appellee (defendant).

No appearance for appellant-appellee (plaintiff).

Before INGLIS, C. J., and BALDWIN, O'SULLIVAN, WYNNE and DALY, JJ.

BALDWIN, Associate Justice.

The plaintiff appealed to the Court of Common Pleas, under § 1048c of the 1953 Cumulative Supplement to the General Statutes, from the suspension of his license and motor vehicle registration by the commissioner of motor vehicles. The court sustained his appeal and ordered judgment entered vacating the suspension. The commissioner has appealed from this judgment. The case concerns the interpretation and application by the commissioner of the so-called financial responsibility provisions of the motor vehicle law. Cum.Sup.1953, §§ 1047c-1069c.

The facts are not in dispute. The plaintiff was not insured with respect to his car against liability for personal injury or property damage, he was not exempt under § 1053c from the requirements as to security and suspension, and he had not been required to furnish proof of financial responsibility under § 1044c. On July 28, 1954, while he was operating his automobile, he was involved in an accident in which Michael Durkin, a pedestrian, was injured. Durkin sued the plaintiff for negligence and claimed $20,000 damages in an action returnable to the Superior Court in Hartford County in October, 1954. He caused an attachment to be made on real estate owned by the plaintiff and his wife jointly, with right of survivorship. This property had a market value of $6500 and was subject to a mortgage for $4175. The pleadings in the case have been closed and it is now awaiting trial.

On October 25, 1954, the commissioner, pursuant to § 1051c, requested the plaintiff to deposit $800 in cash or its equivalent as security for Durkin's claim for injuries or suffer the suspension of his motor vehicle registration and operator's license. The plaintiff failed to comply, and the suspension became effective. Thereupon the plaintiff asked for and was given a hearing by a duly authorized representative of the commissioner. § 1048c. At the hearing the plaintiff claimed that the attachment on his real estate was sufficient to satisfy any judgment which Durkin might recover, at least to the extent of $800, and that the commissioner should accept evidence of the attachment as the security required by him. The plaintiff presently earns $73 a week, and he could increase his income to $5000 a year by selling insurance if he could have the use of his automobile. He makes no claim that the amount fixed by the commissioner, $800, is excessive. The commissioner refused to accept evidence of the attachment as security unless the plaintiff could secure from Durkin or his attorney an affidavit to the effect that the attachment was satisfactory and that Durkin did not desire additional security.

The trial court reached the following conclusions: (1) The commissioner must consider the attachment on real estate as security in the amount represented by the equity in the real estate; (2) he could not refuse to accept evidence of an attachment on real estate as a deposit; (3) in so refusing, he had acted illegally, arbitrarily and in abuse of his discretion. The certificate of registration and operator's license of the plaintiff were ordered to be returned to him. These rulings furnish the basis of the commissioner's appeal. The plaintiff claimed that the statutes under which the commissioner purported to act were unconstitutional. The court overruled this claim, and the plaintiff filed a cross appeal. He has, however, failed to appear and urge his cross appeal either in argument or brief. We will therefore consider it as having been abandoned.

This is the first case in this court in which the powers of the motor vehicle commissioner under the financial responsibility statutes have been directly questioned. We shall consider first the nature of this proceeding. The commissioner is an administrative officer to whom the legislature has given the power to administer this law. § 1048c. He is specifically authorized to give a hearing upon the request of any person claiming to have been aggrieved by his action, and his acts and orders are subject to review upon appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Ibid. The court may decide, as it did in this case, that the appeal should operate as a stay of the suspension.

Section 1048c states: 'The court may, in disposing of the issue before it, modify, affirm or reverse the order * * * of the commissioner in whole or in part.' This means no more than that the court may decide whether the commissioner, upon the facts before him, has mistaken the law, and so has acted illegally, or whether he has been arbitrary to the extent of abusing his discretion. Gibson v. Connecticut Medical Examining Board, 141 Conn. 218, 222, 104 A.2d 890; Lanyon v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act, 139 Conn. 20, 28, 89 A.2d 558; Kram v. Public Utilities Commission, 126 Conn. 543, 548, 12 A.2d 775; Charchenko v. Kelley, 140 Conn. 210, 213, 98 A.2d 915; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 35 v. Commission on Civil Rights, 140 Conn. 537 545, 102 A.2d 366. A court cannot, constitutionally, do more. Norwalk Street Ry. Co.'s Appeal, 69 Conn. 576, 583, 37 A. 1080, 38 A. 708, 39 L.R.A. 794; DeMond v. Liquor Control Commission, 129 Conn. 642, 645, 30 A.2d 547; Jaffe v. State Department of Health, 135 Conn. 339, 353, 64 A.2d 330, 6 A.L.R.2d 664. When no record of the proceedings before the commissioner is available, or when the record is inadequate, the court determines the facts upon the assumption that they were the facts upon which the commissioner acted and applies the test hereinbefore stated. Colonial Beacon Oil Co. v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 128 Conn. 351, 354, 23 A.2d 151; Beaverdale Memorial Park, Inc., v. Danaher, 127 Conn. 175, 182, 15 A.2d 17.

The purpose of the law requiring the registration of motor vehicles is identification and revenue. Gonchar v. Kelson, 114 Conn. 262, 264, 158 A. 545, and cases cited. An operator's license is purely a personal privilege issued by the state on account of fitness. Shea v. Corbett, 97 Conn. 141, 145, 115 A. 694. Section 1042c confers upon the commissioner the power to suspend or revoke any operator's license or certificate of registration issued under the laws of this state 'for any cause that he may deem sufficient'. Whenever a motor vehicle is involved in an accident in this state which results in the death or physical injury of any person, or in damage to any property in excess of $100, the operator of the vehicle must file a written report with the commissioner upon a form provided by him. §§ 1040c, 1050c. After the receipt of this report, the commissioner may proceed under § 1051c, which comprehends the situation presented by the case at bar. It is unnecessary to incorporate this long section in our opinion or to attempt to paraphrase its many provisions. It suffices to state that the section empowers the commissioner to determine what amount of security is required to satisfy any judgment which may be obtained for damages against the owner or the operator of...