ALJDEC - Licensing

2025A-00563-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2025-10-06

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

Jorge Arredondo,

COMPLAINANT,

Madero Plumbing, LLC

License No. ROC 328720,

RESPONDENT.

No. 2025A-00563-ROC

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION

HEARING: September 17, 2025 at 1:00pm

APPEARANCES: Complainant Jorge Arredondo on his own behalf. Investigator John Chester on behalf of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. No representative appeared on behalf of Respondent.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Nicole Robinson

EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE: Arizona Registrar of Contractors Notice of Hearing packet (“Packet”).

FINDINGS OF FACT

Madero Plumbing, LLC (“Respondent”) is the holder of License No. ROC 328720 first issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (“Registrar”) on May 4, 2020. Respondent holds a CR-37 Plumbing license.

On or about January 23, 2023, Jorge Arredondo (“Complainant”) entered into a contract with Respondent for, among other things, the installation of a city sewer line which replaced the septic system. The total project cost $15,000.00 and Complainant paid $9,000.00, by the time work stopped on or about September 9, 2024.

On or about January 27, 2025, the Registrar received a Complaint against Respondent from Complainant alleging poor work with respect to the project.

The Registrar assigned the complaint to Investigator Joey Chester. Investigator Chester set up a jobsite inspection on March 17, 2025, with both parties present.

After a jobsite inspection, 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 Friday, May 9, 2025.

. . . .

DIRECTIVE REQUIREMENTS

You are directed to remedy the following violations by the appropriate means:

Complaint Item 1: City Inspector said the sewer line Madero installed will need to be replaced with the correct pipe

. . . .

Complaint Item 3: - Lateral tap is not finished, installed incorrectly & rejected by the city of phoenix permit# CVR152300043

. . . .

Complaint Item 4: - sewer pipe slope will need to be corrected to pass inspection and connect to city sewer correctly

Complaint Item 5: - Pavement restoration is not finished. Permit# CVR152300048

Investigator’s Observation: Respondent shall complete project per original contract agreement, properly executed change orders, verbal agreements, local building codes and manufacturers installation instructions. The Respondent will obtain a permit, correct any deficiencies required by the county/city, and pass final permit inspection.

Complaint Item 6: - Madero Abandoned the project for over 1 year after the city inspector said their work needed to be corrected

Investigator’s Observation: Respondent shall complete project per original contract agreement, properly executed change orders, verbal agreements, local contract agreement, properly executed change orders, verbal agreements, local building codes and manufacturers installation instructions.

. . . .

All errors in original.

Following the issuance of the Written Directive, no corrective work was performed. After the deadline in the directive expired, Investigator Chester was notified that no corrective work had been performed.

On May 20, 2025, the Registrar issued a Citation against Respondent, charging possible violations of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(2)(a); Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(3), namely Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-108(B); 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.

On June 16, 2025, the Registrar issued a Notice of Hearing, setting a hearing at 1:00pm on July 25, 2025. The Registrar mailed copies of the Notice of Hearing to Respondent at its address and email address of record.

The hearing was postponed. On July 28, 2025, an order from the Office of Administrative Hearings advised the parties of the new hearing date and on how to connect to the hearing via Google Meet. The rescheduled hearing was held via Google Meet on September 17, 2025 at 1:00pm.

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 the sewer line started on Complainant’s property and continued under the public street. Investigator Chester further testified that Respondent laid the pipe, however, the trench remained open on Complainant’s property and remained open in the middle of the street with a boarded covering. Investigator Chester stated that the permits Respondent obtained were not finalized or approved by the city and the work was not finished.

Complainant testified that the sewer line had been exposed since March 2023 and laid vulnerable to the elements and weather. Complainant testified that Respondent used the wrong type of material for the pipes and failed city inspections which led to Respondent ultimately having abandoned the project.

Administrative notice is taken of Respondent’s prior License record on September 17, 2025. Such prior License record reflects that Respondent’s License No. ROC 328720 was first issued on May 4, 2020, and is Active. Such prior License record also reflects that there were two open complaints and one complaint resulting in discipline against Respondent’s license.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The Notice of Hearing that the Registrar mailed to Respondent at its address and email address of record was reasonable, and Respondent is deemed to have received notice of the hearing.

This matter lies within the Registrar’s jurisdiction.

Complainant bears the burden of proof to establish Respondent’s statutory violations by a preponderance of the evidence. A preponderance of the evidence means “[p]roof which leads the trier of fact to find that the existence of the contested fact is more probable than its nonexistence.”

In this case, the evidence clearly established that Respondent did not complete the project in accordance with the applicable building code in a manner that was prejudicial to Complainant. Therefore, Complainant established that Respondent departed from or disregarded the applicable building code in violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(2)(b).

Secondly, the evidence established that Respondent’s work was not in conformity with the Registrar’s standards. In addition, Respondent left the property in a dangerous state with the sewer trench being exposed for years. 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(B).

Lastly, 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 328720 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 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 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, October 6, 2025.

/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]

Jorge Arredondo

2940 E. St. John Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85032

[email redacted]

Madero Plumbing, LLC

12771 W Snyder Hill Rd

Tucson, AZ 85735

[email redacted]

By: OAH Staff