ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

2016A-392-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2016-06-29

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HEARING: June 20, 2016 APPEARANCES: Tom Raine, Attorney for the Registrar of Contractors; Bonny Brogdon, Registrar of Contractors witness ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Dorinda M. Lang _____________________________________________________________________ After issuing a Citation and Complaint against Respondent and offering evidence to establish that Respondent allowed an unlicensed entity to use its license to contract without a license, the Registrar of Contractors has established that it is appropriate to revoke Respondent’s license. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On April 5, 2016, the Registrar of Contractors issued Respondent a Citation and Complaint informing him that the Registrar was alleging that Respondent violated A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(9), a prohibition against aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor. 2. On April 28, 2016, the Registrar of Contractors issued Respondent a Notice of Hearing informing him that a hearing on the Citation and Complaint would be conducted on June 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings, an independent State administrative hearings agency. Respondent did not appear at the hearing, and the matter proceeded because the Registrar bears the burden of proof in this matter. 3. The Registrar’s counsel offered the testimony of Bonny Brogdon, an investigator, who testified as to her findings and her report regarding allegations of aiding and abetting an unlicensed entity to conduct the business of contracting. She testified about 3 complaints received against Genesis Luxury Group on projects that the Registrar of Contractors found to involve contracting without a license. 4. Samuel Charles Saldano is listed as the Qualifying Party and member on Respondent’s Application for Contractors License and the statutory agent for Respondent’s Limited Liability Corporation.[1] 5. Respondent’s Registrar of Contractors license number is listed in Genesis Luxury Group’s website.[2] 6. Arizona Corporation Commission’s website information on Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. lists Samuel Charles Saldano as its vice president.[3] 7. Among the documents provided in a complaint filed with the Registrar of Contractors by Genesis Luxury Group’s client, Nancy Ann DuBro, an email from Jon Allen of Genesis Luxury Group, Inc.[4] states, in relevant part, as follows:

In the infancy of the company our qualifying partner was Jimmy Younger. As the company made changes and improvements and we brought Sam on in a new partnership the numbers changed to reflect the new partners ROC numbers. . .

8. According to Investigator Brogdon’s testimony, Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. applied for a Registrar of Contractors license,[5] which was denied due to complaints of contracting without a license. In a Notice of Appeal from that denial, Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. stated that the work done for Nancy Ann DuBro was performed under Respondent’s license number.[6] 9. On April 12, 2016, the Registrar of Contractors received a complaint against Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. The contract included in the complaint documents includes a handwritten note stating, “No retention per Sam.” The documents also include a revised proposal stating, “Attention: Sam Saldano,” in typewritten text at the beginning. The total amount of the revised proposal was $16,980.00 with another $1,540.00 in optional services.[7] 10. Respondent was issued a Citation in a complaint by K F M Striping & Curb Company, Inc. for potential violations of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(10) and (14).[8] A final order was issued in that matter due to Respondent’s failure to file a timely answer.[9] 11. On April 8, 2016, the Registrar of Contractors received a complaint against Genesis Luxury Group, naming Sam Saldano as one of the people representing the license.[10] Another Citation was issued alleging a potential violation of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(10) and the final order was issued based on Respondent’s failure to file a timely answer.[11] 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)(9), which prohibits licensed contractors from aiding and abetting anyone to evade that chapter of the statutes, conspiring, allowing one’s license to be used by anyone, or “acting as an agent, partner, associate, or otherwise . . . with intent to evade this chapter.” 3. The evidence in this matter is clear. Respondent allowed its license number to be used by another entity that is not listed on the license. Respondent was clearly aware that its license was being used because Respondent’s qualifying party was actively providing services for the unlicensed entity. However, Respondent knew or should have known that these activities were a violation of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(9) rather than an arguably less serious violation of failing to disclose a change in ownership because Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. was a separate entity from Respondent, with different members who held different ownership interests than were reflected in Respondent’s license. As noted by the attorney for the Registrar at hearing, clients of Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. were hiring an unlicensed entity thinking they were hiring a licensed contractor, and if they needed access to the Recovery Fund, they would have been harmed by Respondent’s actions of allowing its license to be part of that scheme. Further, in the short time that Genesis Luxury Group, Inc. was conducting business, it garnered 3 complaints. Therefore, it is appropriate to revoke Respondent’s license. RECOMMENDED DECISION Based upon the foregoing considerations, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge hereby recommends that the Registrar of Contractors revoke Respondent’s license number 233583.

If the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings certifies this Administrative Law Judge Decision, the effective date of the order will be the date of certification.

Done this day, June 29, 2016.

/s/ Dorinda M. Lang Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Jeffrey Fleetham, Director Registrar of Contractors ----------------------- [1] Exhibit 1. [2] Exhibit 2. [3] Exhibit 3. [4] Exhibit 4, page marked “page 17”. [5] Exhibit 12. [6] Exhibit 6. [7] See Exhibit 8. [8] Exhibit 9. [9] Exhibit 10. [10] Exhibit 11. [11] Ibid.

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