USGBC Sued for "Deceptive Marketing Claims"

class action complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District for New York. The plaintiffs includebuilding owners, taxpayers whose governments require LEED certified buildings and building design/construction professionals.
Among other allegations, it states that USGBC has mislead property owners by claiming that LEED buildings are 25% more energy efficient, improve indoor air quality and reduce CO2 emissions. The plaintiffs state that the USGBC misrepresented the results of the March 2008 New Buildings Institute Study by omitting certain material information. More specifically, the complaint states that the 5,215 buildings in EIA Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) catalog database have construction dates that go back as far as 1920 while the LEED sample consists of buildings built or renovated after 2000. The plaintiffs say that the energy use data of the LEED buildings reflect at least in part energy savings inherent in the post-2000 building practices and materials modern lighting fixtures, cooling equipment, insulation, etc., and are not necessarily attributable to LEED elements.
The complaint also alleges that USGBC is fraudulently misleading the consumer by concealing the material importance of the fact that the NBI study compared the median energy use of the LEED buildings to the mean energy use of the CBECS buildings. The plaintiffs assert that when the mean performance for both groups are used, LEED buildings actually consumer 29% more energy than buildings in the CBECS catalog. In contrast, the plaintiffs say that on April 3, 2008, USGBC proclaimed that LEED buildings are “performing 25-30% better than non-LE.E.D.® certified buildings".
The plaintiffs also claim that USGBC is misleading the market when its says that the LEED system provides third party verification. The complaint alleges this claim is false beause LEED certification does not require any verification of the data submitted and "does not require actual energy use data at at stage" . The complaint also says LEED certification is not based on actual building performance data but instead on projected energy use and that USGBC does not have the staff or expertise to evaluate these applications. In sum, the plaintiffs charge that instead of third party verification, LEED essentially allows self-certification.
The complaint also makes specific reference to the dispute involving the Northland Pines High School in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Residents appealed the LEED Gold certification for the 28M high school after licensed engineers determined the school failed to achieve mandatory energy and atmosphere quality standards (ASHRAE 62.1-1999 and 90.1-1999). USGBC upheld the certification.
One of the interesting factoids in the complaint are LEED compliance cost estimates. According to the complaint, the minimum price for LEED certification is $2,900. Certification for a newly constructed building that is under 50,000 square feet is $2,000 for a USGBC member­ organization plus an initial $900 “registration” fee per project. Certification for a newly constructed building that is over 500,000 square feet is $20,000 for a USGBC member­ organization plus an initial $900 “registration” fee per project. Certification for a newly constructed building that is between 50,000 and 500,000 square feet is $.04 per square foot for a USGBC member-organization, plus an initial $900 “registration” fee