ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

2015A-1811-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2016-01-26

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HEARING: January 13, 2016 APPEARANCES: Kaelee Wilson, Complainant; Cheryl Wilson, witness; Ted Gerold, Registrar of Contractors Inspector ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Dorinda M. Lang _____________________________________________________________________ FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Complainant contracted with Respondent for a kitchen and floor remodel. Complainant filed a complaint against Respondent with the Registrar of Contractors. After a job site inspection on May 26, 2015, Registrar of Contractors Inspector Ted Gerold issued a Directive from the Registrar on or about May 28, 2015. The Directive ordered Respondent to correct 7 numbered items. 2. Respondent made some corrections, but Inspector Gerold found at a pre- hearing inspection on January 12, 2016, that 4 items had not been corrected, one had been corrected but with damage to the side of a cabinet. Further, the floor planks were deteriorating further. 3. Although Respondent appeared at job site inspection, it was not represented at the hearing or at the pre-hearing inspection. Therefore, the weight of the evidence established that the kitchen remodel did not meet minimum workmanship standards and that materials used for the floor were defective and continue to crack. It was also not disputed that Respondent failed to make appropriate repairs to 4 of the items in the Directive from the Registrar. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. This matter is within the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Contractors pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 32-1104(A)(4), 32-1154(B) and 32-1156. 2. The Citation and Complaint issued by the Registrar of Contractors in this matter alleged potential violations of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(3) and (22) and A.A.C. R4-9-108. 3. A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(3) provides grounds for suspension or revocation of a contractor’s license for “[v]iolation of any rule adopted by the registrar”. The Arizona Administrative Code requires contractors to meet minimum workmanship standards in the projects they undertake. A.A.C. R4-9-108. 4. A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(22) provides grounds for suspension or revocation of a contractor’s license for failure to take appropriate corrective action on a Corrective Work Order without valid justification and within a reasonable period of time. 5. The Registrar of Contractors may consider the prior record of a contractor in any disciplinary proceeding. A.A.C. R4-9-117. The Registrar of Contractors website states that the licenses at issue in this matter are currently suspended for lack of bond beginning on November 26, 2015. 6. In this case, the Complainants have established that Respondent violated A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(3) and (22) when it did not meet workmanship standards while remodeling Complainant’s kitchen and installing Complainant’s floor. RECOMMENDED DECISION Based on the foregoing considerations, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge hereby recommends that Respondent’s licenses in this matter (License Nos. 242325 and 265083) be revoked.

If the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings certifies this Administrative Law Judge Decision, the effective date of the order will be forty (40) days from the date of certification. Done this day, January 26, 2016.

/s/ Dorinda M. Lang Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Jeffrey Fleetham, Director Registrar of Contractors -----------------------

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