We’ve written extensively here at gbNYC about the potential for litigation arising out of green construction projects. To date the issue has been on the radar screens of numerous industry authors, but real-life application of green legal theory has been relatively difficult to come by outside of a handful of green-related claims reported by insurance carriers. However, a (relatively) recent lawsuit that was filed on the eastern shore of Maryland demonstrates that green building risk is real- particularly in light of rapidly increasing regulatory activity at the state and local levels. The suit suggests the critical importance of clear contract language for each stakeholder on a green construction project and posits that the alternative could be massive exposure to unanticipated liability for every project participant.
August 20th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 13 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "green liability"
Rough Tuesday for Green Buildings in Midtown
Yesterday was not a good day to be a green building under construction in Midtown. First, Steve Cuozzo reported in the Post that Macklowe Properties’ 510 Madison Avenue, which is currently pursuing a LEED Gold rating from USGBC, has received a partial stop-work order from the Department of Buildings. Later in the morning, a 5 ‘ by 13′ panel of glass fell from the 51st floor of Cook + Fox’s LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower. The panel landed on sidewalk bridging across 42nd Street (where the former Verizon Building continues to undergo a number of green retrofits), shattering and sending one person to Bellevue. Tishman Construction is serving as the construction manager for both of the projects
August 12th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Your Luxury Amenities May Be Trying to Kill You
Apparently, even if your floors are bamboo and your finishes low-VOC, that luxury condo may be giving you cancer anyway. The cause is that ubiquitous must-have mostly used for holding take-out containers: the granite countertop. “It’s not that all granite is dangerous,” a radon-detection technician was quoted in the New York Times. “But I’ve seen a few that might heat up your Cheerios a little.” Granite, particularly the varieties imported from Brazil and Namibia, can release both radon and radiation, according to reports and analysis by the Department of Health. The radiation/radon claim is fervently denied by the Marble Institute of America, which claims it’s “ludicrous” and perpetuated by competing materials manufacturers and makes of radon-detecting technologies. They have released their own study to refute marble’s danger.
July 25th, 2008 | Alex Padalka | 4 comments | Continued
Industry Groups Launch Legal Challenge to Albuquerque Green Building Codes
Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Energy Conservation Codes were signed into law back in January, but their implementation was delayed until July 1 after industry groups voiced concerns during the spring that the Codes were, among other things, preempted by federal law. The Codes purported to raise the standards on the installation of HVAC equipment for all new and retrofit commercial and residential projects to a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ration (”SEER”) of 15 (for air conditioning) and an annual fuel utilization efficiency (”AFUE”) of 90 percent (for heating). The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico by, among other plaintiffs, Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute.
July 15th, 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
LEED-AP Designation Not Just for A/E/C
It’s no surprise that this week’s edition of Crain’s reports an increasing number of real estate brokers, marketing professionals, and, yes, lawyers, who are sitting for the U.S. Green Building Council’s exam in pursuit of the LEED Accredited Professional (”LEED-AP”) designation. (The article is not yet available online). Depending on the industry, though, professionals [...]
October 2nd, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 6 comments | Continued