ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final
2022A-00704-NPC-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2022-06-14
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC,
COMPLAINANT
v.
Lone Cactus Construction LLC,
License No. ROC 332252,
RESPONDENT
No. 2022A-00704-NPC-ROC
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: April 20, 2022 and May 26, 2022.
APPEARANCES: Complainant Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC was represented by Edward Marko, Esq. who appeared via Google Meet. Shawn Roanhorse appeared via Google Meet on behalf of Respondent Lone Cactus Construction LLC.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Adam D. Stone
_____________________________________________________________________
FINDINGS OF FACT
On March 10, 2022, the Registrar of Contractors (“ROC”) issued a Notice of Hearing on Contested Case setting the above-captioned matter for hearing on April 20, 2022, 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. 332252 issued by ROC. Shawn Roanhorse is Respondent’s qualifying party and a member manager in the LLC.
Complainant is Sunstate Equipment Co LLC.
Complainant rented to Respondent equipment used by Respondent in connection with its license.
On January 17, 2022, Complainant filed with ROC a complaint against Respondent alleging that Respondent owed Complainant $34,484.34.
Prior to the commencement of the April 20, 2022 hearing, the parties agreed to continue the matter to May 26, 2022, as Respondent had promised to pay the remaining balance in satisfaction of the amount owed.
At the time of the hearing on May 26, 2022, the parties acknowledge that remaining balance had not been paid and proceeded with the hearing.
Complainant presented the testimony of Tony Ybarra and offered 34 exhibits into evidence.
Mr. Ybarra was the Account Manager for Complainant. He testified that since the filing of the Complaint, partial payments had been made and the current balance was $18,915.16.
Mr. Roanhorse testified that he acknowledged that the amount was owed, and there was no reason that the amount should not be paid.
Mr. Roanhorse also testified that he had sent a courier to Mr. Marko’s office that day to deliver a cashier’s check.
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 affect 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 for equipment rented in connection with Respondent’s operations as a contractor. Mr. Roanhorse admitted the amount was owed and offered no valid defense for why the amounts had not been paid.
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 $18,915.16.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IT IS RECOMMENDED that Lone Cactus Construction LLC’s license number 332252 be suspended until the Registrar receives proof that it has paid to Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC $18,915.16.
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, June 14, 2022.
/s/ Adam D. Stone
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted electronically to:
Jeffrey Fleetham, Director
Registrar of Contractors
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-137160-45720000By Miranda Alvarez
Legal Secretary