The U.S. Green Building Council is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit that accuses the organization of false advertising and deceptive trade practices.

The USGBC's motion, filed earlier this month, comes in a case brought by Henry Gifford, a critic of the organization whose initially much-ballyhooed complaint included allegations of anti-trust, unfair competition, deceptive trade practices, false advertising and RICO violations, as attorney Shari Shapiro wrote last October.

The original claim also sought $100 million in damages and designation as a class action suit, and named Greener Buildings.com Executive Editor Rob Watson, who chaired the LEED steering committee for its first 12 years, among the defendants.

The plaintiff sharply scaled back the complaint earlier this year as attorney and consultant Chris Cheatham detailed in a post in February.

Then this month, the USGBC filed its motion for dismissal, citing lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Watson, no longer a defendant in the suit, provides his take on the USGBC's move in a post today, while Shapiro's perspective is available on her Green Building Law Blog and attorney Stephen Del Percio outlines the arguments in his Green Real Estate Law Journal.

Image CC licensed by Flickr user steakpinball.