Sedgwick County contractor faces $37,000 in fines after failing to install pool
Michael Pirl of Sedgwick County faces nearly $37,000 in fines after his unlicensed construction company failed to install an in-ground swimming pool for a customer.
The 18th Judicial District Court issued a default judgment Aug. 27 against Pirl for violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) by posing as a licensed contractor, not pulling permits and failing to notify a customer of their right to cancel a transaction within three days.
Court documents show that in June 2020, Pirl entered a verbal agreement with homeowner Ward Mocaby to remove dirt and an old exterior pool frame and replace it with a fully functional in-ground pool at a cost of $10,000.
Installation of in-ground pools in Sedgwick County requires a residential permit and inspection by the Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department.
Without pulling a permit, Pirl accepted a $5,000 down payment from Mocaby. After removing the old pool frame, he stopped work on the project, leaving a large hole in the homeowner’s backyard.
Mocaby asked Pirl for a refund in August 2020 and filed a complaint with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office in October.
In a December phone call with a district attorney investigator, Pirl said he hadn’t pulled a permit because he had not yet begun construction on the pool, which he blamed on rain.
He admitted that his company, Pirl Construction, was not a licensed contractor in the county, but claimed that he was a subcontractor and that Mocaby was in fact the contractor on the project.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office asked the court for a default judgment after Pirl did not respond to the plaintiff’s petition and a summons.
Pirl must now pay a total of $36,997, including $10,000 each for three KCPA violations, $5,800 in restitution to Mocaby, $1,000 to the district attorney’s office in investigation fees and $197 in court fees.
Pirl was also ordered to refrain from operating or conducting business in Kansas until he obtains all necessary licenses.
Records show Pirl Construction received a $3,269 loan through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program in June 2020, the same month Pirl agreed to replace Mocaby’s backyard pool.