Construction and Development

By Rick Erickson

Recently in Johnson v. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a homeowner’s late appeal of an adverse decision by the Registrar of Contractors (“Registrar”).  After successfully pursuing a complaint to suspend a roofing contractor’s license, the homeowner tried but failed to get her roofing repair costs from the Registrar’s Recovery Fund.  The homeowner sent her appeal to the Registrar.  However, the governing Arizona statute, A.R.S. § 12-904(A), clearly required the homeowner’s appeal to be filed in Superior Court, not with the Registrar.  Once the homeowner realized her mistake, her appeal to Superior Court was a day late.  Case dismissed.  The Superior Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the late filing, and the homeowner forfeited the right to judicial review.  So remember that any appeal of the Registrar’s administrative actions must be filed in Superior Court no later than thirty-five days after being served with the Registrar’s decision.