Antt

Amvest Mortgage Corporation (Amvest) appeals an order denying its petition for administrative mandamus. The petition sought an order from the superior court requiring respondent, Jim Antt, Jr., as Commissioner of the Department of Real Estate (collectively, the Department), to set aside an order suspending the firm’s corporate real estate broker’s license for 30 days. We reverse.

Factual and Procedural Background

On June 1, 1993, the Department filed an accusation against Amvest and its designated broker/officer, Thomas J. Kerrins, alleging several violations of laws and regulations governing the conduct of a mortgage loan broker. A hearing was held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) who issued a proposed decision finding Amvest, through Kerrins’s negligence or failure to supervise Amvest employees, committed the following unlawful acts: (1) the firm’s trust account was short $1,136.09 (a deficiency the firm repaid); (2) Amvest did not follow required reconciliation practices for its trust accounts pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2831.2; (3) the two Amvest employees who were permitted to withdraw funds from the trust account were not…