Traugott v. Petit

• Decision Date: 27 July 1979
• Docket Number: No. 77-319-A,77-319-A
• Citation: 122 R.I. 60,404 A.2d 77
• Parties: Kathryn M. TRAUGOTT v. Eugene PETIT, Registrar. ppeal.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 77

404 A.2d 77

122 R.I. 60

Kathryn M. TRAUGOTT v. Eugene PETIT, Registrar.

No. 77-319-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

July 27, 1979.

[122 R.I. 67] Sheila Cabral-Sousa, Providence, for plaintiff.

Francis J. Darigan, Jr., Providence, for respondent.

OPINION

BEVILACQUA, Chief Justice.

Kathryn M. Traugott (Traugott) is appealing from a Superior Court judgment that decreed, Inter alia, that married women, including Traugott, who wish to register a motor vehicle or apply for an operator's license must use their Christian names followed by their husband's surnames.

Traugott, who was formerly married, used the surname of her husband during the period of her marriage. Her divorce decree, issued in Massachusetts, does not specifically mention that she chose to resume the use of her birth name upon obtaining her divorce. Nevertheless, subsequent to her divorce, she changed her name back to Traugott on all public records and on her private business records, with the exception of her Rhode Island driver's license and her United States passport, which contains both names. When she attempted to change her name on her Rhode Island driver's license, however, the Registry of Motor Vehicles (the registry) informed her that to do so necessitated presentation of either a divorce decree specifically granting her the use of her birth name or another legal document evidencing the change from her married surname to her birth name. Traugott therefore complained to the Superior Court under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) §§ 9-30-1 to -16 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1970), seeking an injunction and a declaration of her rights to redress the violation of her civil and constitutional rights.

After the hearing, the trial court decided that the legal name of a married woman, including that of Traugott, is her Christian name followed by her husband's surname. The trial justice thus countenanced the registry's policy of refusing to change the name of a divorced woman on its records of motor vehicle registrations and licenses without proof of a divorce decree granting the woman the right to resume her former or maiden name. Traugott is appealing from this judgment.

The issue before this court is whether a citizen, divorced or otherwise, has the right in Rhode Island to change her name and to have that name change recorded by the registry without presenting a court decree. Traugott maintains that absent legislation to the contrary, all citizens in Rhode Island have a common-law right to use, assume, and adopt any name as long as the purpose of its assumption or adoption is not fraudulent. She therefore reasons that because no Rhode Island statute, including the enabling act of the registry, abrogates this common-law right, all women, whether married or single have the right to adopt any names they choose as their legal names. ¹

Under the common law, individuals have the right to change their name as long as they do so with a nonfraudulent purpose. Secretary of the Commonwealth v. City Clerk, 373 Mass. 178, ---, 366 N.E.2d 717, 721 (1977); Stuart v. Board of Supervisors of Elections, 266 Md. 440, 446-47, 295 A.2d 223, 226-27 (1972); Piotrowski v. Piotrowski, 71 Mich.App. 213, 215-16, 247 N.W.2d 354, 355 (1976); Moskowitz v. Moskowitz, N.H. 385 A.2d 120, 122 (1978); Dunn v. Palermo, 522 S.W.2d 679, 682-83 (Tenn.1975); Kruzel v. Podell, 67 Wis.2d 138, 151, 226 N.W.2d 458, 463-64 (1975). This court has held that Rhode Island has adopted the common law to the extent that it remains applicable in given circumstances. Benevides v. Kelly, 90 R.I. 310, 312-13, 316, 157 A.2d 821, 822, 824 (1960). The common law governs the rights and obligations of citizens in Rhode Island unless that law has been modified by the General Assembly. Id. at 316, 157 A.2d at 824, Citing Lombardi v. California Packing Sales Co., 83 R.I. 51, 54, 112 A.2d 701, 702 (1955). Both of the parties agree that absent appropriate legislation abrogating the common-law right to change one's name nonfraudulently, the registry is powerless to require a divorced woman to produce a divorce decree reestablishing the use of her birth name in order to remove her ex-husband's surname from her driver's license. The registry, however, asserts that although the Legislature has not entirely abrogated the common-law right, statutes enacted by the General Assembly in the area of motor vehicle licensing and registration evidence a "strong legislative intent to modify, in a limited way, the general common law rule." The registry further contends that pursuant to statute and to registry policy, the state of Rhode Island requires a married woman who wishes to apply for a motor vehicle operator's license or to register a motor vehicle to use her husband's surname and a divorceee who wishes to do likewise to obtain a divorce or a probate court decree indicating a name change. The registry cites G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 15-5-17 as proof of this contention. Section 15-5-17 reads as follows:

"Change of name. Any woman, to whom a divorce from the bond of marriage is decreed, may be authorized by such decree to change her name, subject to the same rights and liabilities as if her name had not been changed."

The registry refers to the following portions of its enabling act as authority for its own policy, G.L.1956 (1968 Reenactment) § 31-10-12:

"Contents of application (for operator's or chauffeur's license). Every said application shall state the full name, date of birth, sex, and residence address of the applicant * * * ."

" § 31-10-26. Issuance of license Signature of licensee. The registry shall (upon payment of the required fee) issue to every applicant qualifying therefor an operator's or chauffeur's license as applied for, which license shall bear thereon a distinguishing number assigned to the licensee, the full name * * * of the licensee * * * ."

" § 31-3-35. Notice of change of name. Whenever the name of any person who has made application for or obtained the registration of a vehicle is thereafter changed by marriage or otherwise such person shall within ten (10) days notify the registry of such former and new name."

" § 31-10-32. Notice of change of address or name. Whenever any person after applying for or receiving an operator's or chauffeur's license shall move from the address named in such application or in the license issued to him or when the name of a licensee is changed by marriage or otherwise such person shall within ten (10) days thereafter notify the registry in writing of his old and new addresses or of such former and new names and of the number of any license then held by him."

In §§ 31-10-12 and -26 the registry puts particular emphasis on the phrase "full name," interpreting the word "full" as requiring a married woman to...