Sat, Jul 04, 2009

Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION General A1 Communications Cable Techs BusinessBuilders protest warranty billCapitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.23.2008
PHOENIX — Officials from the organizations that represent home builders in Arizona are asking a judge to prevent a vote on a measure which would require their members to provide 10-year warranties on what they sell.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Maricopa County Superior Court, contends that the petitions misled signers because the summary says its approval would provide a warranty on homes.
That's true, but attorney Lisa Hauser said Proposition 201 also would provide some additional legal protections to those who buy new commercial buildings.
Hauser also contends the initiative itself is legally flawed because it does not have an actual title. She said the fact that the text of the measure saying that it should be referred to as the "Homeowner Bill of Rights" does not meet legal requirements.
And she said the text of the measure fails to put all new language in capital letters — a requirement to show petition signers what is new — a flaw Hauser said will allow a judge to declare that the entire initiative cannot be put before voters in November.
Calls to the attorney representing the backers of the initiative were not immediately returned.
The legal maneuvers are designed to keep voters from getting to weigh in on what could prove to be a popular measure, especially among home buyers unhappy with what they believe are construction flaws.
The key provision of the initiative, written and financed by the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, is that requirement for a 10-year warranty.
There is no such requirement now in state law. Instead homeowners who contend there are construction defects have to sue, something that lawmakers have said can be done only within eight years of the home's being completed.
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