DETROIT — A bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of singer-songwriter Anita Baker in a lawsuit that alleges she failed to pay more than $15,000 for work done on her Grosse Pointe, Mich., home, according to an attorney involved in the civil case.

The bench warrant stems from Grammy Award-winning singer’s failure to appear at a creditor’s examination in Wayne County Circuit Court last September after she was subpoenaed to be there, said attorney Dan Gerow, who is representing Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating Inc.

Gerow’s client alleges Baker did not pay for carpentry, plastering and painting work done at her Grosse Pointe home in 2009.

According to Wayne County Circuit Court records online, a bench warrant was signed and filed Wednesday.

Baker could not be reached for comment. Online court documents don’t give the name of her attorney in the case.

Gerow said a default judgment for $15,351.41 was entered against Baker in April 2011.

“I just want to collect the money,” Gerow said.

Baker, who grew up in Detroit, is best known for a series of hit songs in the mid-1980s and early ’90s, including Sweet Love and Giving You the Best That I Got.