The United States District Court in New York City has dismissed Henry Gifford’s lawsuit against the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Gifford, the owner of the heating retrofit company Gifford Fuel Saving in New York, filed a class action suit against the USGBC on Oct. 8, 2010, alleging that the organization mislead the public regarding the energy saved by LEED-certified buildings and that the USGBC has established a monopoly on green building standards. In addition to naming the USGBC as a defendant, the suit also specifically named David Gottfried, founder and first president of the USGBC; USGBC founding chairman, and current president and CEO Richard Fedrizzi; and past USGBC founding chairman Robert Watson as defendants.A PDF of the original suit can be downloaded here.
In dismissing the suit, the Court held that none of the plaintiffs in the action had alleged or could allege any legal interest to be protected by their lawsuit. The Court also dismissed Gifford’s claim of federal false advertising “with prejudice,” meaning plaintiffs are barred from filing a new suit based on those claims. Also simultaneously dismissed were state law false advertising claims.