ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final
2017A-2374-LDA-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2017-10-02
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Registrar of Contractors,
v.
Surprise Kitchen and Bath Renovations LLC,
PENDING LICENSE NO. 312407,
Applicant.
No. 2017A-2374-LDA-ROC
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: October 2, 2017, at 8:30 a.m.
APPEARANCES: Surprise Kitchen and Bath Renovations LLC (“Applicant”) failed to appear; the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (“the Registrar”) was represented by Thomas C. Raine, Esq., Assistant Attorney General.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Diane Mihalsky
_____________________________________________________________________
FINDINGS OF FACT
Applicant submitted an application to the Registrar for licensure as a contractor.
The Registrar informed Applicant that the Registrar intended to deny the application.
Applicant requested a hearing on the Registrar’s intended denial.
The Registrar referred the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”), an independent state agency, for an evidentiary hearing.
On May 9, 2017, the Registrar issued a Notice of Hearing setting a hearing on June 30, 2017. The Registrar sent the notice of hearing to Applicant at its address of record, 14017 N. 186th Ave., Surprise, Arizona 85388-9809.
On May 24, 2017, Applicant filed a request to continue the hearing so that its principal could request a settlement conference and have additional time to analyze the evidence on which the Registrar was basing its intended denial of the license application. The Registrar’s attorney did not oppose the continuance.
On June 1, 2017, the Administrative Law Judge issued an order continuing the hearing to October 2, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. OAH staff sent the order to Applicant at its address of record.
The Registrar’s attorney appeared at the scheduled continued hearing on October 2, 2017, at 8:30 a.m.
Applicant did not request to appear telephonically at the continued hearing. Although the beginning of the duly noticed continued hearing was delayed twenty minutes to allow Applicant additional travel time, it did not contact OAH to request that the hearing be further delayed or continued, did not appear, through a member, authorized employee, or attorney, and did not present any evidence to establish its qualifications to be licensed as a contractor in Arizona.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The notice of hearing that the Registrar sent to Applicant and the order continuing the hearing at Applicant’s request that OAH sent to Applicant at its address of record were reasonable. Applicant is deemed to have received notice of the continued hearing.
Applicant bears the burden of proof to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that it is qualified to be licensed as a contractor and that the Registrar therefore erred in denying its application.
Applicant, by failing to appear at the continued hearing, failed to sustain its statutory burden of proving that it is qualified to be licensed as a contractor in Arizona. Consequently, the record does not support any finding that Applicant is qualified to be licensed as a contractor or that the Registrar erred in denying his application.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
In view of the foregoing, and in light of Applicant’s failure to prosecute its appeal, it is ordered the appeal in Case No. 2017-2374 shall be dismissed and that the Registrar’s denial of Applicant’s application for a contractor’s license shall be affirmed.
In the event of certification of the Administrative Law Judge Decision by the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, the effective date of the Order will be five days from the date of that certification.
Done this day, October 2, 2017
Diane Mihalsky
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted electronically to:
Jeffrey Fleetham, Director
Registrar of Contractors