ALJDEC - Licensing
2025A-04447-NPC-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2025-09-18
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Ellis and Company LLC,
COMPLAINANT,
v.
CNC Contracting LLC,
License No. ROC 332641,
RESPONDENT.
No. 2025A-04447-NPC-ROC
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION
HEARING: August 29, 2025 at 1:00pm
APPEARANCES: Micah Ellis on behalf of Complainant Ellis and Company, LLC. No representative appeared on behalf of Respondent CNC Contracting, LLC.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Nicole Robinson
EXHIBITS ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE: Arizona Registrar of Contractors Notice of Hearing packet (“Packet”).
FINDINGS OF FACT
CNC Contracting, LLC (“Respondent”) is the holder of License No. ROC 332641 issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (“Registrar”).
On or about July 5, 2025, Ellis and Company, LLC (“Complainant”) filed a Complaint against Respondent with the Registrar alleging that Respondent had failed to pay Complainant the sum of $14,398.37 for cabinetry and countertop work on two commercial projects.
The parties were unable to resolve their differences, and Complainant requested an administrative hearing. On June 20, 2025, the Registrar then issued a Citation for Alleged Violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(10).
On July 7, 2025, Respondent filed an Answer and did not assert that it lacked the capacity to pay the amount Complainant asserted was due.
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 August 29, 2025. The Registrar mailed copies of the Notice of Hearing to Respondent at its address and email address of record. On July 24, 2025, 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 August 29, 2025.
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
Micah Ellis, owner of Complainant business, testified on his own behalf. The substantive evidence of record is as follows:
The Whispering Winds project was a hotel located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Complainant was hired to install cabinetry and finished the job on or about March 12, 2025. The amount left outstanding for Respondent to pay on this project was $9,095.32.
The Liquor Pig project was a restaurant and bar located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Complainant was hired to install cabinetry and finished the job in March 2025. The amount left outstanding for Respondent to pay on this project was $4,051.63 – Invoice 100055 and $1,251.42 – Invoice 100102.
Mr. Ellis tried to communicate with Respondent via numerous calls, texts and emails to try and settle this matter prior to filing the complaint, to no avail. On May 2, 2025, Mr. Ellis sent a demand letter to Respondent and received no response.
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.
The burden of proof at an administrative hearing falls to the party asserting a claim, right, or entitlement and the standard of proof on all issues in these matters is 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.”
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(10) includes among the grounds for suspension, revocation, or other disciplinary action against a contractor’s license,
[f]ailure by a licensee or agent or official of a licensee to pay monies in excess of $750 when due for materials or services rendered in connection with the licensee's operations as a contractor unless the licensee proves that the licensee lacks the capacity to pay and has not received sufficient monies as payment for the particular construction work project or operation for which the services or materials were rendered or purchased.
The purpose of the Registrar’s licensing statutes is to protect the public from unscrupulous, unqualified, and financially irresponsible contractors.
The preponderance of the evidence shows that Respondent owed Complainant more than $750.00 for materials/services provided in connection with Respondent’s operations as a contractor.
The evidence established that Respondent owed a total of $14,398.37 for two cabinetry projects. Respondent failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that it lacked the ability to pay Complainant for the work performed.
Therefore, Complainant established that Respondent violated Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1154(A)(10) by failing to pay Complainant $14,398.37 for services or materials rendered in connection with Respondent’s contracting business.
RECOMMENDed order
Based on the foregoing,
It is recommended that the Registrar suspend Respondent’s License No. ROC 332641 and 315455 issued by the Registrar until it has provided to the Registrar, and the Registrar has accepted, documents that establish that it has paid Complainant $14,398.37 in certified funds.
It is further recommended that when and if the Registrar receives and accepts Respondent’s evidence that it has paid Complainant $14,398.37 in certified funds, the Registrar may close the Complaint in Case No. 2025-04447.
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, September 18, 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]
Ellis and Company LLC
7645 E Ray Rd Ste 108
Mesa, AZ 85212
[email redacted]
CNC Contracting LLC
6424 E Greenway Pkwy
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
[email redacted]
By: OAH Staff