ALJDEC - Licensing
2025A-01700-NPC-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2025-07-28
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
4K Aluminum Inc,
COMPLAINANT
v.
Outdoor Homes LLC
License No. ROC 339578,
RESPONDENT
No. 2025A-01700-NPC-ROC
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: July 11, 2025
APPEARANCES: Keith Jackson appeared on behalf of Complainant 4K Aluminum Inc. Scott Knudson appeared on behalf of Respondent Outdoor Homes LLC.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Adam D. Stone
EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE:
_____________________________________________________________________
FINDINGS OF FACT
On May 9, 2025, the Registrar of Contractors (“ROC”) issued a Notice of Hearing on Contested Case setting the matter for hearing on June 12, 2025, at the Office of Administrative Hearings.
On February 14, 2025, the Complainant, 4K Aluminum Inc., filed a complaint against Respondent alleging that Respondent owed Complainant monies on invoice 5362 in the amount of $9,143.21.
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. 339578 issued by ROC, and timely provided an Answer on April 29, 2025.
Complainant provided materials on a project for which Respondent was the general contractor.
After a continuance, the hearing was convened on July 11, 2025.
Keith Jackson testified as to the amount due, and that when a contractor does not pay a supplier, it cannot go after the contractor’s bond and therefore creates a hardship to a business like his. Further, Mr. Jackson testified that while he did not want a payment plan because he was not a finance company, it did not prevent Respondent from still sending in payments until full payment was received. Mr. Jackson also testified that it had been 253 days since the invoice was issued without payment. Finally, Mr. Jackson testified that he wanted each of Respondent’s licenses to be suspended until full payment was made.
Scott Knudson testified that his business was experiencing a slowdown in work, and wanted to do a monthly installment plan, but that Mr. Jackson refused. Mr. Knudson admitted the amounts were owed, and that he had not paid the remaining balance.
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 materials purchased and work performed in connection with Respondent’s operations as a contractor. From the credible evidence provided, the tribunal finds that the amounts had been due and owing since October 31, 2024, and that Respondent has failed to pay without a valid legal excuse.
Therefore, 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 $9,143.21.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IT IS RECOMMENDED that Outdoor Homes LLC’s license number 339578 be suspended until the Registrar receives proof that it has paid to 4K Aluminum Inc. $9,143.21.
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, July 28, 2025.
/s/ Adam D. Stone
Administrative Law Judge
Transmitted by either mail, e-mail, or facsimile to:
Tom Cole, Director
Registrar of Contractors
4K Aluminum Inc.
[email redacted]
Outdoor Homes LLC
[email redacted]
By: OAH Staff