Real Estate, Land Use & Construction Law 

We delve into a more legal, technical and lengthy post this week for a good reason — a recent decision from a Virginia trial court (PDF of decision) points to a new avenue for claims by buyers of real estate in Virginia.

Virginia's General Assembly has passed a bill that, among other things, raises the upper limit of cases that may be filed in the General District Court.  This increase will potentially make it easier to try certain matters more cost effectively moving forward.

In October 2010, Henry Gifford filed a lawsuit against USGBC alleging misrepresentation claims against USGBC and some of its individual founders regarding its LEED rating system. The crux of the suit centers on Gifford’s claims that USGBC and the LEED green building rating system makes false promises about energy performance of LEED buildings. The original complaint named Rick Fedrizzi, Rob Watson and other individuals as defendants, included misrepresentation style claims, and also included monopolization anti-trust based claims.