STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ) REGULATION, CONSTRUCTION ) INDUSTRY LICENSING BOARD, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 87-3917

)

ARJAN D. CHANWANI, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

This matter was held by William R. Dorsey, Jr., the Hearing Officer designated by the Division of Administrative Hearings, in Miami, Florida, on March 14, 1988. A transcript of the proceeding has been filed and the Department has filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The substance of the proposed findings has been accepted.

Ray Shope, Esquire, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioner. No appearance for Respondent.

ISSUE

The issues framed by the Amended Administrative Complaint are whether Mr. Chandwani was guilty of negligence in the practice of engineering with respect to drawings prepared for the renovation of a house, and whether he failed to obtain a certificate of authorization for a corporation which he owned which offered engineering services to the public.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The notice of the hearing was sent to Mr. Chandwani at the address disclosed on the Election of Rights form in which he demanded a formal hearing on the allegations made in the Administrative Complaint filed by the Department of Professional Regulation. Mr. Chandwani did not, however, appear at the hearing.

   
   

2. Mr. Chandwani is licensed by the Board of Professional Engineers holding registration #PE0017049. Mr. Chandwani is the president of International Engineers and Builders, Inc., a Florida corporation whose Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State on July 8, 1980.

   
   

3. Mr. Chandwani, on behalf of International Engineers and Builders, Inc., entered into a contract on November 28, 1984, with Peter Persaud for the preparation of sealed plans for the rehabilitation of a property located at 22740 S.W. 179th Place, Miami, Florida. Mr. Persaud had purchased the property while it was in foreclosure. The property had come under the jurisdiction of

   the Dade County Code Enforcement Department due to defects in the structure, and Mr. Chandwani was engaged to provide drawings for the rehabilitation of the property. The plans originally delivered to Mr. Persaud by Mr. Chandwani were neither signed nor sealed. When taken to the Dade County Building and Zoning Department they were found to be deficient not only because they were not signed and sealed, but because they did not meet the criteria of the South Florida Building Code. For example, a cabana shown on the plans should not have been located on the property line.

   
   

4. Eventually Mr. Chandwani provided signed and sealed plans, but only after a demand to do so had been made by Mr. Persaud's attorney.

   
   

5. The testimony of James Owen Power, a consulting engineer who testified about the plans on behalf of the Board of Professional Engineers, has been accepted. The plans submitted are deficient in that they do not contain complete information on all components of the structure. For example, there is no design specified for roof trusses, nor is there any design for assembling trusses into a roof system.

   
   

6. The plans are also confusing and contradictory in that Section A on sheet 1 of the plans appears to show a wall of a garage as part of an existing building but the plans indicate elsewhere that the garage is new, and nonexisting. There is also a confusing note with respect to a "cathedral ceiling" in the construction of the house, for there is no definition of what a cathedral ceiling is. Moreover, the drawings appear to show a level ceiling, not a cathedral ceiling. It is not clear whether the garage is to have any ceiling.

   
   

7. Although Mr. Chandwani contracted with Mr. Persaud through International Engineers and Builders, Inc., International Engineers and Builders, Inc., has never been issued a certificate of authorization under the provision of Chapter 471, Florida Statutes.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

8. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over this matter. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes, (1987).

   
   

9. Section 471.033(1)(g), Florida Statutes (1985) provides that disciplinary action may be taken against a licensed professional engineer guilty of negligence in the practice of engineering. The plans supplied to Mr. Persaud by Mr. Chandwani are inadequate, and by signing, sealing, and delivering them, Mr. Chandwani is guilty of negligence in the practice of engineering. Mr. Chandwani offered engineering services to the public through International Engineers and Builders, Inc., but did not obtain a certificate of authorization under Section 471.023, Florida Statutes (1985). Violation of that provision of Chapter 471 subjects Mr. Chandwani to discipline under Section 471.033(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1985).

   
   

10. The disciplinary guidelines for the Board of Professional Engineers are found in Rule 21H-19.004, Florida Administrative Code. The minimum penalty for negligence under Rule 21H-19.004(m) is a reprimand, probation for two years, and a $1,000 fine. Failure to obtain a certificate of authorization results in a fine of $100 per month, up to a maximum of $1,000. In its proposed recommended order, the Board seeks these penalties, with the addition that the

probation be "subject to any restrictions the Board deems necessary." However, the Board has failed to specify or otherwise justify any restriction on Respondent's license.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that a final order be entered finding Mr. Chandwani guilty of negligence in the practice of professional engineering and of offering engineering services through an entity which does not hold a certificate of authorization, that he be reprimanded, fined $2,000 and his licensure be placed on probation for a period of two years. The fine shall be paid within sixty

(60) days of the entry of the final order.

DONE and ORDERED this 11th day of April, 1988, in Tallahassee, Florida.

WILLIAM R. DORSEY, JR.

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 11th day of April, 1988.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Arjan D. Chandwani 2560 Azalea Avenue

Miramar, Florida 33025

Ray Shope, Esquire Department of Professional Regulation

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0750

Fred Seeley Executive Director

Construction Licensing Board Department of Professional Regulation Post Office Box 2

Jacksonville, Florida 32201

William O'Neil General Counsel

Department of Professional Regulation

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0750

Docket for Case No: 87-003917

Orders for Case No: 87-003917