Green building continues to gain momentum nationwide. But developments surrounding a landmark piece of green legislation continue to have major implications for communities across the country.

At issue is Washington D.C.’s Green Building Act, which passed in 2006. The law requires builders in the nation’s capital to meet new energy efficiency standards by 2012. But the act’s language has proved problematic with the surety industry, which is responsible for issuing the construction bonds that guarantee work and protect taxpayer investments.

To dig deeper into the issue, the Surety Bonds Education Center recently interviewed Chris Cheatham, a Washington, D.C., construction attorney and an expert in the green building issues facing the surety industry. His blog, Green Building Law Update, has become a hub for information and insight into the future of green building in the nation’s capital and beyond.

Chris has closely followed the Green Building Act and the subsequent uproar from the surety industry. You can listen to the full interview at the Surety Bonds Sit-down.

At the crux of the changeover happening at the US Green Building Council, Doug Reiser (Im writing in 3rd Person – sorry) was able to sit for the LEED AP examination last week. I am happy to report that I passed the examination and was granted accreditation from USGBC.

Now, Wolfe Law Group, LLC has the only two registered LEED AP attorneys in the State of Louisiana (attorney Scott G. Wolfe was the first LEED AP attorney in the state). We anticipate (and hope) that more will join us in the future, as we believe that it is vital that more construction attorneys open their eyes to Green Building, and the goals that are served by this practice.

The USGBC is changing over to LEED v.3, which creates new standards for accreditation and more user-friendly access for the LEED process. The USGBC describes it:

“The new version of LEED Online is faster, smarter and a better user experience. It is designed to be scalable and more robust, through improved design, a more intuitive user interface, better communication between project teams and certifying bodies, and upgrades that respond to the changes in the LEED 2009 rating system.”

The new process is much more intensive, requiring extended examination. However, we highly recommend that you construction attorneys in the great State of Louisiana take the time to get to know the LEED process and the benefits that can be obtained by your client’s use of these practices.

Here at LA Green Law, we intend to continue to provide up to date information on Green Building’s progress in Louisiana.

This weekend in New Orleans, the American Bar Association’s Construction Forum is holding a national legal conference focused entirely on the green building industry.

The forum is entitled “Talking Green Blues,” and attorneys from across the nation are convening to talk about the legal challenges facing the construction industry in light of the explosion of green building.

The ABA Construction Forum joins the chorus of green building blogs and news stories who cry that as green building litigation is a foregone conclusion.

The Maryland Daily Record just reported on the subject, staying that construction lawyers fear that legal problems will result “from confusion over what ‘green’ means, clumsy government sustainable-construction requirements and the normal growing pains of a relative new sector.”

What are some things that may result in litigation?

• Litigation arises when there are broken promises.   Green building adds a new category of promises that can be broken.
• Owners want to “go green” and some aspire for LEED or NHAB accreditation.  However, construction professionals and builders should be weary of promising to achieve a certain accreditation because of the unpredictability of certification.
• Owners may be interested in green building for energy savings, and if those savings don’t materialize, they may sue the builder, designer or product manufacturer for the disappointing performance.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much green building litigation out there for studying to help owners, designers and contractors safely engage themselves in a green building project.

Over at the Green Building Law Update blog, Chris Cheatham has done a good deal of writing about a 2008 case Shaw Development v. Southern Builders.

This was one of the first examples of green building litigation, arising from a project’s failure to obtain green building tax incentives.   The case winded up settling out of court, leaving many consturction attorneys to wonder what would have happened at trial.

A messy green building litigation like Shaw (but not settled) is coming…it’s only a matter of time.

It’s important to obtain qualified and informed counsel to help minimize the growing risks of building green.