Thirty years ago, I Changed my name by the common-law method. There is no law that says a person can't do it that way. Instead of going through the statutory name change method. A compliance enforcement officer cancelled my commercial drivers license without a hearing. Who is responsible, the DMV who hired him, or the defacto officer himself, or both.

If I understood what you said right... then its YOUR fault. What exactly is this so called "common law method" Did you file all the proper notices and make all the required changes as required? Even if you get married the old fashioned way, you STILL have to file all the proper forms and make all the required notifications.

There is no law that says you shouldn't beat your head against a brick wall....but if you do it anyway and get hurt its still your own fault. Meaning...failure to follow required procedures...known or not...still makes it your fault.

Laws regarding name change and/or common law marriage go by state, and even 30 years ago, there weren't many who accepted common law marriage. I've never heard of a common law name change only. This is in the US?

This happened thirty years ago?

Your post is a bit hard to understand. Are you saying that you legally changed your name? There is not common law name change that I'm aware of anywhere, even when you marry you can keep your maiden name if you're female, or a male can change his name to your last name if he wants, or you can come up with a new name, a merge of yours and his.

So are you saying that you legally changed your name? If so, did you renew your license with this new name, renew your mortgage or rent agreement with this new name, renew your social security number with the new name, renew your passport with the new name, renew your bills in this new name? You get where I'm going?

If you legally changed your name, it's up to you to legally change all the documents with your old name, to the new one. If you didn't do this, and a license with your old name was cancelled, than that's your fault.

When I married I took my husbands last name. It took a lot of paperwork and a lot of stress to change everything to my new name. The hardest was my passport, being a German citizen living in Canada as a landed immigrant, it took a year of back and forth, getting everything notarized, for me to change my passport to my new name. If I hadn't done it, and my passport had been revoked, or unaccepted when I traveled, it would be my fault, not theirs.

If you did a legal name change, it had to meet the rules of a common law marriage. And meet them at the time you changed the name on your drivers license and on your social security card and all legal documents.

Even 30 years ago, not all US states (if you are in US) did not honor common law marriage. Next the only legal name change is though actual laws. So laws do not say you can't change a name some way, but it does list, the only ways names can be changed.

So you appeal the issue, showing proof, of the legality of common law marriage and that the requirements for that was meet. Often it included joint bank accounts using the new name, and more. (each state is different)

Next you assume there is a tort, but first you have to prove you had a legal right to change the name, and also changed it on everything,

If you did, and the name change was legal, then you may have a case against the department the man works for and the man.

If a hearing is required by law, and you were not given a hearing, you can also file suit to over turn that decission pending a hearing.

But the rules for such hearings will be departmental rules,

Chuck, question, why would a legal name change have to meet the rules of common law marriage? Anyone can change their name, married or not. They just need to do it legally.

Am I missing something?

I could change my name to Princes Consuela Bananahammock if I wanted to. I just need to do a legal name change, and then I have to change every document, license, passport, social security number, credit cards, debit card, bank info, mortgage, rental agreement, etc. etc. to the new name.

From the way the OP posted, it sounds like he/she changed his/her name, but didn't change it on their license. As a result the license has now been revoked, although why it took 30 years is a mystery.

I think we need the OP to come back and clarify a few things.

The rule used to be something to the effect that you can call yourself anything you want, as long as you aren't trying to defraud someone. I suppose it's what OP is referring to when he writes about "the common-law method".

But the problem is that you can't change your forms of identification in that way. Decades ago we lived in a simpler time. Now, unfortunately, it is necessary to be able to trace Social Security numbers, passports, etc. with accuracy and reliability. I suspect the old rule has been supplanted.

OP complains that his CDL was cancelled because he tried to change his name by what he refers to as "the common-law method", and assumes someone has some sort of liability for doing so. I seriously doubt that this is the case.