Melbourne – The same-sex couple whose licenses were cancelled for having their hyphenated married names are suing the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles.
Scott and Daniel Wall-DeSousa, represented by William Sheppard of Sheppard, White, Kachergus & DeMaggio in Jacksonville, filed a lawsuit the last week of November with the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Orlando Division. The lawsuit states the DMV failed in substantive due process, equal protection, freedom of speech, First Amendment retaliation, and full faith and credit.
The couple was legally married in New York City in December 2013. Upon returning to Florida, they proceeded to change their licenses and other important documents to reflect their married name. Daniel was able to change his at one office in Brevard County, but Scott had difficulty when he tried to change his at another office.
Scott said a woman told him his marriage certificate wasn’t considered a legal document in the State of Florida and refused to change it. In July, he was told there was a new form in the DMV’s system that he could fill out to have the changes made. He went to a DMV location in Orlando, followed the guidelines stated to fill out the form and presented his documentation to have it changed.
However, the Wall-DeSousas said they then received a letter from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles Nov. 8, about a week after WFTV ran a story on the couple changing their driver’s license last name, notifying them of the indefinite cancellation of their licenses. The deadline the DMV gave was Nov. 25.
Daniel told Watermark in an email that Scott changed his name back to make sure their family was able to survive and function, but Daniel refused to change his back so he returned his license as instructed.
The lawsuit asks for a trial by jury.
