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Does the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard falsely claim that its buildings use less energy than other buildings? That’s the accusation being made by an east coast energy efficiency enthusiast, according to , a green building lawyer based in Philadelphia.

Gifford filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Green Building Council on Oct. 8 in New York, claiming that the USGBC committed fraud and false advertising when it claimed its rating system makes buildings save more energy, Shapiro said. The plaintiffs for the lawsuit are any and everyone, from architects to building owners, who bought into the LEED program.

Shapiro is dubious about whether this case holds water. Most of Gifford’s argument comes from , written by himself, that cites a . While the study claims that LEED certified projects saved 25 to 30 percent more energy the non-LEED projects, Gifford said that at least 22 percent of the LEED-certified projects in the study reported their energy use was 29 percent higher than similar buildings.

The arguments being presented are complex and confusing, but I can see the main problem here and it’s a familiar one. LEED buildings aren’t required to do any post-construction energy commissioning, therefore we have no concrete data on their real energy use. The New Buildings Institute study used averages and estimates to suss out how much energy was being used, leading some to claim the information isn’t accurate.

Whatever you believe about LEED’s effectiveness at creating better buildings, it’s obvious that the lack of data we have on how our buildings use energy will continue to be a point of conflict.