ALJDEC - Licensing
2024A-07516-CHC-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2024-12-16
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Jennifer Segovia,
COMPLAINANT
v.
AZ CopperScapes LLC
License No. ROC 327558,
RESPONDENT
No. 2024A-07516-CHC-ROC
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: November 25, 2024 at 1:00PM
APPEARANCES: Jennifer Segovia, Complainant; Joey Chester, Arizona Registrar of Contractors Investigator
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Nicole Robinson
EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE: Registrar of Contractors Notice of Hearing Packet (Packet); Complainant Exhibit 2-4
FINDINGS OF FACT
AZ CopperScapes (Respondent) is the holder of License No. ROC 327558 issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (Registrar).
On or about May 18, 2022, Jennifer Segovia (Complainant) entered into a contract with Respondent to redesign the backyard at her residential home in Phoenix, Arizona. The total amount of the contract was $12,800.00. The project was to take part in two phases. Phase one included the hardscape and turf. The work on phase one began on June 30, 2022, and the work stopped on May 3, 2023. Due to the delays and issues with phase one, Complainant hired another company to initiate and complete phase two.
On July 2, 2024, the Registrar received a Complaint against Respondent from Complainant alleging poor work with respect to phase one of the project.
The Registrar assigned the complaint to Investigator Joey Chester. On August 7, 2024, Investigator Chester conducted a jobsite inspection with Complainant present. On August 8, 2024, Investigator Chester issued a written directive to Respondent that provided as follows:
After investigation, the Registrar determined that you failed to meet the requirements of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A), and now issues this Directive requiring you to take appropriate corrective action. Failure to comply with this Directive constitutes a violation of A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(22) and may result in the issuance of a citation, discipline of your license, and a civil penalty pursuant to A.R.S. § 32-1154(E) of up to $500.00. You must notify the Registrar’s assigned Investigator of your compliance with this Directive prior to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 26, 2024.
. . . .
DIRECTIVE REQUIREMENTS
You are directed to remedy the following violations by the appropriate means:
Complaint Item 1: The paver/tiles are shifting and breaking apart from each other
Investigator’s Observation: At time of inspection there are pavers that have sunk where there is now level difference, the sand that goes between the pavers is no visible around the project. The Respondent will need to correct this by the appropriate means
. . . .
Complaint Item 2: The paver/tiles between my wall and main patio were placed crooked and do not align.
Investigator’s Observation: At the time of inspection the pavers are not square with the yard and are crooked going towards the patio, respondent will need to fix by appropriate means.
Following the issuance of the written directive, Respondent made no attempt to remedy the items in the directive. After the deadline in the written directive expired, Investigator Chester was notified that no corrective work had been performed.
On September 12, 2024, the Registrar issued a Citation against Respondent, charging possible violations of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(3), namely Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-108(A); and Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(22).
The Registrar referred the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings, an independent state agency, for an evidentiary hearing.
The Registrar issued a Notice of Hearing, setting a hearing at 1:00PM on November 25, 2024. The Registrar mailed copies of the Notice of Hearing to Respondent at its address and email address of record. On October 22, 2024, a Google Meet order from the Office of Administrative Hearings advised the parties on how to connect to the hearing via Google Meet. The hearing was held via Google Meet on November 25, 2024.
Respondent did not request that the hearing be continued. Although the start of the hearing was delayed 15 minutes, Respondent did not appear through an authorized member, employee, or attorney. Consequently, Respondent did not present any evidence to defend its license.
Hearing Evidence
Investigator Chester testified that Respondent’s argument in its Answer that Complainant filed a complaint outside the jurisdictional window was not compelling. Investigator Chester received evidence that work on phase one of the project ended on May 3, 2023, and the Complaint was filed on July 2, 2024. Respondent did not present any evidence to the Registrar or the Tribunal to counter that fact.
Complainant testified that although she hired another contractor to perform the work on phase two of the project, no work has been done on phase one to remedy the issues from the written directive and those issues remained at the time of the hearing.
Administrative notice is taken of Respondent’s prior License record on November 25, 2024. Such prior License record reflects that Respondent’s License No. ROC 327558 was first issued on January 30, 2020, and was suspended on October 9, 2024, due to a recovery fund payout. Such prior License record also reflects that there was one resolved/settled complaint against Respondent’s license.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This matter lies within the Registrar’s jurisdiction.
The copies of the Notice of Hearing that the Registrar mailed to Respondent at its address and email address of record were reasonable and Respondent is deemed to have received notice of the hearing.
Complainant bears the burden of proof to establish Respondent’s statutory violations 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.”
Respondent’s suspended license does not deprive Complainant of her right to prosecute her complaint or prevent the Registrar from determining the merits of the complaint.
In this case, the work performed by Respondent included the paver work which was not installed properly and still remains crooked. As such, the evidence established that Respondent’s work was not in conformity with the Registrar’s standards. Therefore, Complainant established that Respondent did not complete the project in a workmanlike manner in violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(3), namely Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-108(A).
The evidence established that Respondent did not attempt to complete the corrective work following the Directive being issued. Therefore, Complainant established that Respondent failed to take appropriate corrective action following a written directive from the Registrar in violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(22).
RECOMMENDED ORDER
Based on the foregoing, it is recommended that on the effective date of the Order, the Registrar shall suspend Respondent’s License No. ROC 327558 for a period of five days.
It is further recommended that the Registrar require Respondent to pay the sum of $500.00 as a civil penalty pursuant to Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(E).
It is further recommended that if Respondent fails to pay the entire amount of the civil penalty on or before thirty days following the effective date of the Registrar’s final order, the Registrar revoke Respondent’s license, effective on such deadline date. No future license shall be issued to any entity consisting of persons associated with Respondent, as defined in Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1101(A)(5), unless Respondent tenders payment of any outstanding prior civil penalty.
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 41-1092.08(I), the licensee may accept the Administrative Law Judge Decision by advising the Office of Administrative Hearings in writing not more than ten (10) days after receiving the decision. If the licensee accepts the Administrative Law Judge Decision, the decision shall be certified as the final decision by the Office of Administrative Hearings.
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.
Done this day, December 16, 2024.
/s/ Nicole Robinson
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted by either mail, e-mail, or facsimile to:
Tom Cole, Director
Registrar of Contractors
c/o Legal Department
1700 W. Washington Street, Suite 105
Phoenix, AZ 85007
[email redacted]
Joey Chester
[email redacted]
AZ CopperScapes LLC
2040 W Deer Valley Rd Ste B
Phoenix, AZ 85027
[email redacted]
Jennifer Segovia
35824 N 34th Ln
Phoenix, AZ 85086
[email redacted]
By: OAH Staff