A new study suggests that "green" office buildings are worth more than similar buildings.

Frequently, when considering if a building should go green, developers and businesses have figured that a green building costs more to build, and sometimes to operate as well.

A University of California-Berkeley professor and two professors from the Netherlands compared the market value of about 700 green-certified buildings in seven major U.S. cities to that of about 7,500 other nearby office buildings. The findings are shocking: On average, the green-certified office buildings were worth about $5.1 million more than the other buildings.

The survey considered buildings green if they were certified by the federal government's Energy Star program or the LEED standard. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary national standard for measuring and documenting a building's sustainable characteristics developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

According to the study, green office buildings also produce more rent for their owners. The average per square foot rent paid for space in the green buildings was 8.5 percent more than in other buildings.

-- Thomas O. Gray,
DRS Architects,
thomas_gray@drsarchitects.com

When a business gets sued, where the lawsuit is filed is a very important question. Defending a long-distance lawsuit in a state or country with different laws and procedures is much more expensive, time-consuming and unsettling for a business than defending the same lawsuit where it has its headquarters or facilities.

But when it comes to lawsuits, where is "where" on the Internet?

Over the past decade, a large number of court cases have dealt with the question of jurisdiction for lawsuits related to Internet commerce. The result is both good news and bad news.

The good news is that just because a business has a Web site that someone can access in another jurisdiction does not necessarily mean that it can be sued in that jurisdiction. Generally speaking, a business will not put itself at risk of lawsuits in other jurisdictions merely by having a toll-free number, an e-mail link or other informational materials on its Web site.

The bad news is that if a company is clearly conducting business over the Internet, such as buying or selling goods, it very well may be subject to a lawsuit filed in another jurisdiction. Courts also may allow a lawsuit to go forward in another jurisdiction if a Web site targets that location in its contents, or even if the Web site gets a large number of hits from that jurisdiction.

As part of developing an Internet marketing and/or sales program, companies should understand the risks involved and take appropriate steps to shield themselves from "borderless" jurisdiction. For example, companies can minimize their exposure to being sued away from home by putting some carefully drafted language on their Web sites and in their purchase orders and other agreements.

-- Joshua R. Lorenz,
Meyer Unkovic & Scott LLP,
jrl@muslaw.com