Chief District Judge Martha Vazquez of United States District Court for the District of New Mexico issued an order back on Friday granting a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs in AHRI et al. v. City of Albuquerque. The injunction bars the enforcement of the city’s Energy Conservation Code, which the plaintiffs claim is preempted by federal regulation, pending the outcome of the lawsuit. I thought a portion of Vazquez’ 24-page written opinion was particularly interesting in light of much of our commentary on state- and local-level green building legislation here at gbNYC. “The city’s goals [in enacting the disputed code] are laudable,” Vazaquez wrote, “[u]nfortunately, the drafters of the code were unaware of the long-standing federal statutes governing the energy efficiency of certain HVAC and water heating products.”
October 8th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "green building attorney"
Marsh Report: At Least One Professional Liability Insurer is Considering a LEED Project Coverage Endorsement
A green building project without sufficient insurance coverage will never get out of the ground, which is why the recent efforts of Marsh to review current trends in the marketplace with respect to green building insurance issues have been particularly insightful. While I’ve talked extensively here at gbNYC about the potential for green design services rendered by architects and engineers to trigger exclusions in professional liability policies (in relation to the signing of credit submittal templates in connection with LEED projects) the Marsh report did not explicitly discuss this specific risk. However, the report did note the potential liability for design professionals who guarantee or warrant “an outcome without having complete control over things such as construction means and methods, and operation and maintenance.”
September 11th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
The Liability of Building Green: GBI & ED+C to Sponsor Summer-Long Webinar Series
On Tuesday, June 24, the Green Building Initiative and ED+C magazine are sponsoring the first in a series of three webinars examining the various liability issues that construction industry stakeholders may confront in connection with green projects. I will be presenting on next Tuesday’s panel- titled “Risk and Liability in the Construction Industry”- and providing an overview of potential causes of action that could be asserted against (or brought by) green project participants.
June 19th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Brookhaven National Laboratory Awarded Long Island’s First LEED Silver Rating
The Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has earned Long Island’s first LEED Silver rating. Brookhaven’s $12.6 million Research Support Building, designed by Farmingdale, New York-based Ehasz Giacolone Architects, earned 34 credits from USGBC, including the maximum possible for recycled-content and locally-sourced materials. General contractor E.W. Howell of Woodhaven, New York also diverted between 50 and 75 percent of the project’s construction debris from local landfills.
May 20th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
The State of Sustainable Building: Ten Notable Green Quotables
Chapter 1 of the 2007 Building Design + Construction Green Buildings White Paper, “AEC Industry Continues to Embrace Green Building, But Is It Still Only a Niche?,” includes three pages of quotes from industry stakeholders regarding, among other things, their attitudes towards the role of A/E/C professionals in green building, prevailing green market conditions, defining [...]
January 10th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
San Francisco’s Proposed Green Building Legislation: Progressive or Plain LEED Creep?
At a press conference last week that was held at Tishman Speyer’s LEED Silver hopeful 555 Mission Street, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed municipal LEED legislation that, if enacted, would be among the most rigorous in the country applying to private construction. Mayor Newsom has vowed to fast-track his signature on the legislation should [...]
December 20th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Spitzer Announces Plans for 330-Acre Green Development Adjacent to SUNY-Albany
At a press conference last week, Governor Spitzer announced plans for the redevelopment of the Averill Harriman State Office Campus, which consists of 330 acres adjacent to SUNY-Albany. 653,000 square feet of existing vacant buildings will be transformed into a mixed public-private LEED-certified sustainable development. Spitzer’s plan calls for the adaptive reuse of existing buildings [...]
December 19th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Is LEED Legislation- Whether Public or Private- Undemocratic?
In an article written earlier this week, Dan Walters, a columnist at the Sacramento Bee, articulated his concerns over a LEED-driven green public building regulatory scheme by calling such legislation “part of a broader legislative tendency to avoid tough policy decisions by shifting them to unaccountable outside organizations.” Walters was writing with respect to California’s [...]
August 8th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Revisions to Wicks Law Stall; Albany Vows to Push Forward
Back in March, gbNYC joined various industry leaders in calling on Albany to repeal the Wicks Law, anachronistic 1920s-era legislation that requires municipal owners in the State of New York, including New York City, to use four separate contractors on any construction project greater than $50,000 for general construction, plumbing and gas fitting, heating and [...]
August 7th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 3 comments | Continued