Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable Paul T. Holt County %totiney Travis County Austin, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-1630 Re: County Clerk's method of indexing '!Assumed Name" as required by Article 5'926,R.C.S. We have for reply your letter of October 25, 19399 wherein you request the opinion of this Department as to the method to be employed by the county clerk in the indexing of "Assumed Name" certificates filed in that office pursuant to the-terms of Article 5926, Revised Civil Statutes. The pertinent part of your request is: "9 * 4+3 should the (Assumed Name Index' be kept and indexed according to the person filing same or should this record be indexed according to the name set out in the assumed name certificate?" Your request is a natter of statutory construction necessi- tating diligent inquiry into the legislative intent fostering the enactment of this statute. Clary V. Hurst9 138 S.W..566, 104 Tex. 423 Roy v. Schneider, 221 S,W. 880, 110 Tex. 369 Popham v. Patterson 51 S.W. (2) 680,.121 Tex. 61.5 A proper background must be provided by,setting out the pro- visions of Article 5924, Revised Civil Statutes. "No person shall conduct or transact business in this State' under any assumed name or under any designation, name, style, corporate or otherwise other than the real name of each individual conducting or transacting such business, unless such person shall fine in the office of the county clerk of the counties in which such person conducts, or transacts or intends to conduct or transact such business, a certificate setting forth the name under which such business is, or is to be, conducted or transacted, and the true full name or names of each person conducting or transacting the same, with the post-office address of each. 3t +? 3bfl Honorable Paul T. Halt? Page 2, 0-1630 Continuing, Article 5’926,Revised Civil Statutes, provides that: "Each county clerk shall keep an alphabetical index of all persons filing certificates provided for herein, and for in- dexing and filing each certificate shall receive a fee of one dollar.% 0 it" To properly arrive at the intent of the Legislature we must constantly keep before us the evil'sought to be remedied. A clue is afforded by the terms of the emergency clause.: "The fact that there is now no law providing for the registration of the names of persons doing business under assumed or ficti- tious names, and that absence of such law impairs the stability of credits in the stateit % 0 The 'Assumed Name Act', Acts of 37th Leg., Sec. 7." Thus we see that the purpose of the Legislature in passing this act, as indicated in the emergency clause, was to prevent the impairment of credit,s in this State. See Bristol v. Noble Oil and Gas Co., 273 s.v~, 946. The ccurt in the Bristol case, supra, cites with approval the followin extract from the leading case of Cashin v. Pliter, 168 Mich. 386, 134 N.W. 482, rendered by the Sup. ct. of Michigan. "Parties doing business with those acting under an assumed name have a right under the law to know who they are. 5t +t