ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

2021A-01785-NPC-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2021-12-10

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

Signature Plumbing LLC,

COMPLAINANT

Fripps Mohave Construction LLC

License No. ROC 263905,

RESPONDENT

No. 2021A-01785-NPC-ROC

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION

HEARING: December 7, 2021

APPEARANCES: Josh Budka appeared via Google Meet on behalf of Signature Plumbing LLC. Respondent failed to appear.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Adam D. Stone

_____________________________________________________________________

FINDINGS OF FACT

On June 11, 2021, the Registrar of Contractors (“ROC”) issued a Notice of Hearing on Contested Case setting the above-captioned matter for hearing on July 22, 2021 at the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Through the citation and Notice of Hearing, ROC alleges that Respondent may have violated Ariz. Rev. Stat. section 32-1154(A)(10).

Respondent holds License No. 263905 issued by ROC.

Complainant is Signature Plumbing LLC.

Complainant performed plumbing work for Respondent on at least three different properties in or about August 2019.

On or about March 24, 2021, Complainant filed with ROC a complaint against Respondent alleging that Respondent owed Complainant $10,800.00.

The matter was continued and during a conference prior to a hearing on September 1, 2021, Complainant agreed to allow Respondent additional time to tender payment. The parties were to provide a status update by September 30, 2021.

On October 7, 2021, Complainant filed a status update, informing the Tribunal that payment was not made.

A hearing was set for December 7, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. and the notice was sent to both parties at the e-mail addresses provided.

At the hearing on December 7, 2021, Complainant testified that he worked on three properties, namely Miller, Gold Canyon, and Laramie. The total invoiced, less the late fees, was $17,200.00.

Complainant testified that Respondent had paid a total of $8,900.00, and the total outstanding balance was now $8,300.00.

The hearing was delayed ten minutes to allow Respondent or its representative to appear. Respondent failed to appear and thus presented no evidence to defend its license.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Unless otherwise provided by law, a party asserting a claim, right, or entitlement bears the burden of proof; a party asserting an affirmative defense has the burden of establishing the affirmative defense. The standard of proof on all issues in this matter is that of a preponderance of the evidence. Ariz. Admin. Code § R2-19-119.

“At a hearing on an agency action to suspend, revoke, terminate or modify on its own initiative material conditions of a license or permit, the agency has the burden of persuasion.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-1092.07(G)(2).

A preponderance of the evidence is:

The greater weight of the evidence, not necessarily established by the greater number of witnesses testifying to a fact but by evidence that has the most convincing force; superior evidentiary weight that, though not sufficient to free the mind wholly from all reasonable doubt, is still sufficient to incline a fair and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than the other.

Black’s Law Dictionary 1373 (10th ed. 2014).

Statutes should be interpreted to provide a fair and sensible result. Gutierrez v. Industrial Commission of Arizona, 226 Ariz. 395, 249 P.3d 1095 (2011)(citation omitted); State v. McFall, 103 Ariz. 234, 238, 439 P.2d 805, 809 (1968) ("Courts will not place an absurd and unreasonable construction on statutes.").

“Statutes shall be liberally construed to effect their objects and to promote justice.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 1-211(B).

The purpose of the Registrar’s licensing statutes is to protect the public from unscrupulous, unqualified, and financially irresponsible contractors. See Aesthetic Property Maintenance v. Capital Indem. Corp., 183 Ariz. 74, 900 P. 2d 1210 (1995).

Among the grounds for suspension or revocation of a contractor’s license is a “[f]ailure by [the] licensee . . . to pay monies in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars when due for materials or services rendered in connection with the licensee’s operations as a contractor when the licensee has the capacity to pay or, if the licensee lacks the capacity to pay, when the licensee has received sufficient monies as payment for the particular construction work project or operation for which the services or materials were rendered or purchased.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(10).

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Respondent owes Complainant more than $750.00 for work performed by Complainant. Respondent has provided no defense as to why he cannot pay.

The preponderance of the evidence shows that Respondent has violated section 32-1154(A)(10).

Respondent’s license should be suspended until it pays to Complainant $8,300.00 in certified funds.

/ / /

RECOMMENDED ORDER

IT IS RECOMMENDED that Fripps Mohave Construction LLC’s license number 263905 be suspended until the Registrar receives proof that it has paid to Signature Plumbing, LLC $8,300.00 in certified funds.

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 is forty days after the date of that certification.

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-137160-45720000Done this day, December 10, 2021.

/s/ Adam D. Stone

Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Jeffrey Fleetham, Director

Registrar of Contractors

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