The Lawyers Have Invaded LEED Certifications

I imagine you can be sued for anything. But I am not sure how you design a building to get a given LEED rating and then miss the boat. I would think you could always think of one more feature to retrofit to make up for lost points. This points out that you need to use experienced organizations to do your work. This could only happen with sloppy interpretation of LEED guidance.

The Promise of Energy Ace's LEED Guarantee
By Chris Cheatham
Published August 21, 2009

When I first read about Energy Ace's LEED certification guarantee, I thought it was nuts.

Then I read a Co-Star article and realized Energy Ace's guarantee was brilliant.

When I read a green building regulation, I always look at the enforcement mechanism. And when I look at a green building contract, I always focus on the potential damages. Energy Ace's LEED certification guarantee is brilliant because it limits potential damages if certification is not achieved:

"If a project misses its LEED target level (like Silver or Gold) or fails to earn certification altogether, Energy Ace would refund its LEED administration fee, which is between 30 percent and 45 percent of its total fees, Robertson said.

Simply brilliant. Energy Ace provides a LEED certification guarantee that reassures owners while simultaneously limiting Energy Ace's potential damages.

The potential damages stemming from a project's LEED certification failure are much greater than the limit described by Energy Ace. For example, in Shaw Development v. Southern Builders, the owner sued for $635,000 when the project failed to achieve certification by a certain time. I have never heard of a triple digit LEED administration fee.

Brilliant, right?

By the way, I can help you write a similar contract...