State and local governments have enacted a variety of incentives
to encourage energy efficient "green" design and
construction practices. Projects owned or leased by government
authorities are often subject to mandatory green requirements.
Private development is often encouraged to go "green"
through contractual or tax-related incentives. Promoters of green
building features often tout the cost savings associated with
energy-saving features or the increased marketability of a property
if it is able to achieve a certain green building certification
standard.
But, as Kermit the Frog once remarked, it isn't easy being
green. Well-intentioned efforts to promote green building projects
can often go astray in a number of different ways, with adverse
legal consequences for the project participants. This Client Alert
summarizes in a high-level fashion, some of the more common legal
issues affecting green building participants that have emerged in
recent case law in this
