ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

2022A-05004-RFA-LS-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2024-01-10

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

Eric and Joyce Slabaugh,

COMPLAINANT

Zuhaus LLC

DBA: Zuhaus Construction and Remodeling

Tucson,

License No. ROC 323570,

RESPONDENT

No. 2022A-05004-RFA-LS-ROC

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION

HEARING: January 8, 2024

APPEARANCES: Complainants Eric and Joyce Slabaugh appeared and were represented by Samantha O. Sanchez. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors was represented by Assistant Attorney General Mona Baskin. Brenda Lee appeared as counsel for Respondent Zuhaus LLC doing business as Zuhaus Construction and Remodeling Tucson.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Tammy L. Eigenheer

_____________________________________________________________________

FINDINGS OF FACT

On or about October 30, 2023, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (Registrar) issued a Notice of Administrative Award in which the Registrar determined Complainants’ actual damages were in excess of $30,000.00, and therefore, Complainants were eligible for a $30,000.00 payout from the Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund (the Fund) to recover the cost of completing or repairing their project.

Respondent requested a hearing, believing the payout was too high. Complainants did not object to the payout.

The Registrar referred the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) for an evidentiary hearing.

The hearing convened as scheduled at 9:00 a.m. on January 8, 2023.

At the time of the hearing, Ms. Lee, attorney of record for Respondent, informed the tribunal that Respondent notified her late on Friday that it would not be participating in the hearing. Accordingly, Ms. Lee moved to withdraw as counsel, and the motion was granted.

Following Respondent’s withdrawal from the hearing, the Registrar and Complainants stipulated that Complainants’ actual damages were in excess of $30,000.00 and that Complainants were therefore entitled to a payout of $30,000.00 from the Fund.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

This matter lies within the Registrar’s jurisdiction.

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1132.01(B) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

An award from the residential contractors' recovery fund may not exceed the actual damages suffered by the claimant as a direct result of a contractor's violation. Actual damages:

1. May not exceed an amount necessary to complete or repair a residential structure or appurtenance within residential property lines.

2. Must be established by bids supplied by or the value of work performed by a person that is licensed pursuant to this chapter if the person is required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter.

The Registrar bears the burden of proof to establish that the proposed payout from the Fund is correct by a preponderance of the evidence.

“A preponderance of the evidence is such proof as convinces the trier of fact that the contention is more probably true than not.” A preponderance of the evidence is “[t]he 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.”

After review of all the evidence, the Tribunal concludes that the award provided by the Fund accurately reflected Complainant’s actual damages. Accordingly, Complainant is entitled to a payout from the Fund in the amount of $30,000.00.

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Based on the foregoing, it is recommended that on the effective date of the Registrar’s final order, Complainant receive a payout from the Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund in the amount of $30,000.00.

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 forty (40) days from the date of that certification.

-54864001

001

-137160-45720000Done this day, January 10, 2024.

/s/ Tammy L. Eigenheer

Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted by either mail, e-mail, or facsimile to:

Tom Cole, Director

Registrar of Contractors

Zuhaus LLC

DBA: Zuhaus Construction and Remodeling Tucson

12090 N Thornydale Rd PMB 298 Ste 110

Marana, AZ 85658

Samantha O. Sanchez

Udall Law Firm, LLP

[email redacted]

Registrar of Contractors

[email redacted]

Brenda J. Lee

Lee & Travers PLC

[email redacted]

By: OAH Staff