Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star 2007

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PHOENIX — An attorney for home builders asked a judge Tuesday to block a vote on a proposal to require developers to warranty their new homes for 10 years.

Lisa Hauser told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers the initiative does not comply with legal requirements. She said while some are technical, like the lack of a formal title, others are substantive.

Hauser noted in particular that the new language being proposed by the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, which is financing Proposition 201, is not in capital letters. Instead, she said, it is in lower case — a typographical technique generally reserved for parts of state law that are not proposed for change.

She also said the legally required summary prepared by backers improperly ignores the fact that one provision of the initiative could affect commercial construction.

Andrew Kahn, representing the union, conceded making a "typographical error" in the text of the initiative which, by law, must be attached to every petition seeking to put a measure on the ballot. But he told Myers that signers were not misled.

And Kahn said there is nothing wrong with the wording of the summary, saying he does not read the measure to extend beyond home construction.

Myers gave no indication at Tuesday's hearing how he is leaning.

The measure, if approved by voters, would require every home builder to provide, at no cost to buyers, a warranty to cover the materials and workmanship of every house. That warranty would be transferrable to subsequent buyers during the same period.

It also seeks to protect buyers even before the purchase from price surprises. One provision says a price quoted for a model home must include everything as laid out, including things like upgraded carpeting, tile and fixtures, or each of those items must be separately tagged in the model with the exact cost.