David Blake Quoted in Law360
"New Green Building Efforts Harbor Litigation Risks: Attys"

Seyfarth Shaw Construction partner David Blake was quoted in Law360 on November 17. The article discussed a new wave of legal disputes resulting from an increase in demand for sustainable buildings that must be built according to complex standards. These Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements, which were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000, can be complicated, and existing contracts may fail to meet the specifications.

"There's going to come a day when these projects aren't certified and people are more motivated to pursue claims and they're going to be looking at a contract that does not address these issues," said David, who is also LEED accredited.

He added that a lot of commercial construction contracts avoid the "green" nature of projects by including language that shifts risk to a single party. David advises developers to create a list of the credits a project needs in order to secure LEED certification. He also suggests that designers, builders and all others involved in a project agree on who will be responsible for each credit.

"It's a living document. It may not be the final answer—but I think it's going to be a lot better than what I currently see, which is either ignoring the issue or shifting the responsibility completely to one party," Blake stated.