Author: Iana Apostolova J.D.

This is the first of a series of articles that will discuss some legal aspects of the protection, automation and control world.

In recent years, the electric power industry has been going through substantial changes caused by numerous factors, including deregulation, system operation close to stability limits, various natural disasters, the increased sensitivity of manufacturing facilities to voltage variations, lack of knowledge and experience and many more. The numerous blackouts throughout the world, accompanied by a number of large scale lawsuits, have brought to the forefront the increasingly important issue of the legal consequences that would face protection, control and automation professionals, in the event of yet another significant loss of power, affecting a massive amount of power consumers.

In order to understand the legal issues related to the operation of the different devices and schemes, under the evolving system conditions, it is important to first clarify some definitions crucial to the understanding of such legal concerns.

Following are the definitions of some integral legal terms with brief explanations:

Claim the assertion of an existing right... recognized in equity orlaw...". To make a demand for money, for property, or for enforcement of a right provided by law. If such a demand is not honored, it may result in a lawsuit.

Class Action Law Suit a lawsuit in which a single person or a small group of people represents the interests o a larger group: (1) the class must be so large that individual suits would be impracticable, (2) there must be legal or factual questions common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties must be typical of those of the class, and (4) the representative parties must adequately protect the interests of the class. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23.. This is one of the most threatening legal actions that can be initiated towards any business or organization, because of it's nature. It involves many people and the costs in case of loss could be enormous, even detrimental for the plaintiff.

Liability one of the most significant words in the field of law, liability means legal responsibility for one's acts or omissions.
The quality or state of being legally obligated or accountably; legal responsibility to another or to society, enforceable by civil remedy or criminal punishment.

Litigation any lawsuit or other resort to the courts to determine a legal question or matter.

Plaintiff the party who initiates a lawsuit by filing a complaint with the clerk of the court against the defendant(s) demanding damages, performance and/or court determination of rights.

Proceeding any legal filing, hearing, trial and/or judgment in the ongoing conduct of a lawsuit or criminal prosecution. Collectively they are called "proceedings," as in "legal proceedings."

Negligence the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation;.The term expresses culpable carelessness.