ALJDEC

01F-R001024-BFS · Department of Building and Fire Safety · 2001-05-21

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HEARING: May 7, 2001. APPEARANCES: Gary and Trenna Phillips, Complainants. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Dorinda M. Lang. _____________________________________________________________________ Complainants in this matter have established that the Respondent, the dealer who sold them their manufactured home, failed to complete the sales contract by delivering the home in suitable condition and failed to honor their warranty by doing necessary repairs. Therefore, it is ordered that the Consumer Recovery Fund shall issue $4,881.07, the lowest bid for repair, to the Complainants and that the Respondent’s license be suspended pending repayment to the fund plus interest. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In June 2000, the Complainants, Gary and Trenna Phillips, signed a sales contract with Sun Venture Manufactured Homes, Inc. to purchase a manufactured home. The home was delivered and installed on September 18, 2000. The Phillips’ moved in on or about October 29, 2000. They found many unfinished and incorrect items in the home and asked that they be corrected. The Respondent did not make any repairs or return any telephone calls. Instead, the “owner” (presumably the president and perhaps sole stockholder of Respondent) got married and moved out of state. 2. In mid-November 2000, the Complainants filed a complaint with the Department of Building and Fire Safety Office of Manufactured Housing. On January 19, 2001, however, Gary Grounds, the Complaint Program Manager, issued them a letter stating that the Respondent was no longer licensed with the agency and Complainants’ only recourse was to file against the Consumer Recovery Fund for the verified items (1a, 1c, 3a, 8, 12b, 23a, 23b and 25) on the Complaint. 3. The Complainants filed a complaint with the Consumer Recovery Fund and, after many contractors declined to give bids, obtained three bids to complete the work. The bids were for $7,385, $6,000, and $4,881.07. The Complainants are requesting $6,089, the average of the three bids. 4. No one appeared at hearing on behalf of the Respondent. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. This administrative hearing was held under authority of and pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 41-1092 and 41-2190(C). 2. Subject-matter jurisdiction vests in the Department of Building and Fire Safety under authority of A.R.S. § 41-2190. 3. Pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-2190(B), a manufactured home buyer may file a claim with the Consumer Recovery Fund for damage incurred by failure of a dealer to perform a sales agreement or to perform repairs under a warranty. 4. The fund shall pay for the damages in accordance with the amount found owing by the Administrative Law Judge, and the decision shall include an order suspending the license of the account against whom the claim was filed. A.R.S. § 41-2190(D). 5. “Recovery from the consumer recovery fund is limited to actual or compensatory damages, including costs but excluding interest or attorney fees.” A.R.S. § 41-2188(B). 6. In this case, the actual damages suffered by the Complainants can be remedied by hiring a contractor for a minimum of $4,881.07. Therefore, an award in this amount is appropriate. DECISION Based upon the foregoing, it is ordered that the Consumer Recovery Fund shall issue $4,881.07 to the Complainants in this matter. Further, it is ordered suspending the license of the Respondent (in the event that it is reactivated) until the entire amount of the award to Complainants is repaid to the fund in full, plus interest at the rate of ten per cent per year.

Done this day, May 21, 2001. OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

______________________________________ Dorinda M. Lang Administrative Law Judge

Original transmitted by mail this ____ day of ____________, 2001, to:

Department of Building and Fire Safety N. Eric Borg ATTN: Shawna Blank East Virginia, Suite 100 Phoenix, AZ 85004

By ___________________________

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Office of Administrative Hearings 1400 West Washington, Suite 101 Phoenix, Arizona 85007 (602) 542-9826