ALJDEC

97F-P0257-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 1998-02-18

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

|KEN AND CAROL WOOD, |(| | | |(|Case No.: P97-0257 | |Complainants, |(| | | |(|Docket No.: 97F-P0257-ROC | |vs. |(| | | |(| | |License No. 78150, Class B of |(|Recommended | |SPANCO CORPORATION, INC., |(|Decision and Order | |(CORP.), |(| | | |(| | |Respondent. |(| | | |(| | | |(| |

HEARING: February 11th, 1998, at 8:30 a.m. Appearances: The Complainants, Ken and Carol Wood, appeared in their own behalf. The Respondent, Spanco Corporation, appeared through its qualifying party and owner, Mr. Martin L. Lewis. Administrative Law Judge: Grant Winston

This matter was brought on for administrative hearing on Wednesday, February 11th, 1998. The Complainants, Ken and Carol Wood, appeared in their own behalf. The Respondent, Spanco Corporation, appeared through its owner and qualifying party, Mr. Martin L. Lewis. Testimony was given and, based on the record taken as a whole, the following Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommended Order are made:

FINDINGS OF FACTS

1. At the call of this case, the Co-Complainant, Mr. Ken Wood, began testifying. He began his testimony by stating:

Well, the only item I feel we should address today is the removal of, uh, debris, if you will, uh, left over from Mr., uh, Lewis and Spanco, uh, doing a Corrective Work Order. And that consists of, uh, three sections of culvert and, uh, related asphalt that was dug up when the culvert was removed. Uh, for some reason Spanco has left them on property next to my property.

2. Mr. Wood then made an offer of documentary evidence to support his complaint of the debris. Mr. Lewis objected to the tendered documentary evidence on the ground that the subject matter of the debris was not a part of this Complaint before the Registrar of Contractors (P97-0257), and that that issue is properly the subject of a separate administrative Complaint currently pending before the Registrar.

3. Mr. Wood testified that it was his desire not to enter into a hearing on the issues in this Complaint (P97-0257) as those were now the subject of a civil lawsuit filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr. Decker. Referring to P97-0257, Mr. Wood testified, “I would like not to address that at this time.”

4. The only issue Mr. Wood consented to be heard was the debris issue, but that was not a part of this Complaint. Mr. Jeff Betts, Registrar of Contractors’ Inspector and Investigator, corroborated by his testimony that in fact there was a separate pending Complaint before the Registrar in which the subject of the debris was the issue, and that that Complaint was scheduled to be heard in the near future.

Conclusions of Law

1. This administrative hearing was held under authority of and pursuant to A.R.S. §32-1156 and A.R.S. §41-1092.

2. Based on the Complainants’ unwillingness to proceed at hearing with the subject matter of this Complaint on the ground that those matters are now pending in civil court, and the Respondent’s unwillingness to proceed at hearing with the subject matter of a separate administrative Complaint, on the ground of lack of proper notice and a general lack of due process argument, it is concluded that both judicial and administrative economy, as well the interests of the respective parties, would be served by dismissing the instant Complaint (P97-0257), without prejudice, so that the parties may pursue the matter in civil court where it is now, and to have the issues of the complaint over the debris addressed at the administrative hearing before the Registrar of Contractors, which is currently pending.

Recommended Order

Wherefore, it is hereby recommended that the instant Citation and Complaint, together with the Complaint on which it is based, be dismissed without prejudice. Dated this 18th day of February, 1998.

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

_________________________________ Grant Winston Administrative Law Judge

Original mailed this day of February, 1998, to:

Registrar of Contractors Attn: Joyce Armijo 800 W. Washington, 6th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85007

Transmitted by:

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