KB Home ex-CEO Karatz trial set for Nov. 3

* Judge sets trial date for Karatz over defense objection

* Says will revisit progress at July hearing

LOS ANGELES, April 20 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Los Angeles set a Nov. 3 start for the stock options backdating trial of KB Home's (KBH.N) former chief executive, Bruce Karatz, over the objections of defense attorneys who said they need more time to prepare for the "complex case."

Karatz, 63, faces up to 415 years in federal prison if convicted on all 20 counts in a March 6 indictment accusing him of awarding himself and others millions of dollars in undisclosed stock-based compensation over a seven-year period.

U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II said at Monday's hearing that he wanted a trial date set, but would revisit pretrial progress at a July 13 hearing "to focus everyone's mind."

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Bustamante and Paul Stern, who indicated they need two to three weeks to put on their case, argued for the Nov. 3 start, saying the defense team already had most of the evidence the government would present.

Defense attorneys John Keker and Michael Proctor argued the government's date was "aggressively unreasonable," based on the huge number of documents and witnesses to review, and said the case should start in April 2010.

"Is that April 2010?" Wright asked Keker. "I almost lost consciousness."

Keker estimated the defense needs four to five weeks to put on its case.