Terms Used In Kansas Statutes > Chapter 5 > Article 5 - Dispute Resolution

• Addition to an existing nuclear generation facility: means any addition of nuclear generation capacity to an existing nuclear generation facility. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,158
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized person: means :

  (1) An employee of a public utility or an employee of a contractor which has been authorized by a public utility to perform construction, operation or maintenance on or near the poles or structures of any utility;

  (2) an employee of a cable television or communication services company or an employee of a contractor authorized to make cable television or communication service attachments; or

  (3) an employee of the state or a county or municipality which has authorized circuit construction, operation or maintenance on or near the poles or structures of a public utility. See Kansas Statutes 66-1710

• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Board: means the state board of healing arts. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Broadband: means the transmission of digital signals at rates equal to or greater than 1. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Car carrier: means any vehicle specifically designed to transport wrecked, disabled or otherwise inoperable vehicles. See Kansas Statutes 66-1329
• Certified territory: means an electric service territory certified to a retail electric supplier pursuant to this act. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Closing: means the time at which a nuclear power generating facility ceases to generate electricity and is retired from active service. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Commission: means the state corporation commission. See Kansas Statutes 66-101a
• Common carrier: means any common carrier, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,215
• common carriers: shall include all freight-line companies, equipment companies, pipe-line companies, and all persons and associations of persons, whether incorporated or not, operating such agencies for public use in the conveyance of persons or property within this state. See Kansas Statutes 66-105
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Customer: means the person in whose name a utility service is provided. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decommissioning: means the series of activities undertaken beginning at the time of closing of a nuclear power generating facility to ensure that the final disposition of the site or any radioactive components or material, but not including spent fuel, associated with the facility is accomplished safely, in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Decommissioning costs: means : (1) All reasonable costs and expenses of removing a nuclear power generating facility from service, including, without limitation, dismantling, mothballing, removing radioactive waste material, except spent fuel, to temporary or permanent storage sites, decontaminating, restoring and supervising the site and any costs and expenses incurred in connection with proceedings before governmental regulatory authorities relating to the authorization to decommission the facility; (2) all costs of labor and services performed or rendered in connection with the decommissioning of the facility and all costs of materials, supplies, machinery, construction equipment and apparatus acquired for or in connection with the decommissioning of the facility. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Deed: is a pplied to an instrument conveying lands but does not imply a sealed instrument. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Distribution line: means an electric line used to furnish retail electric service, including any line from a distribution substation to an electric consuming facility; but such term does not include a transmission facility used for the bulk transfer of energy even if such energy is reduced in voltage and used as station power. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Electric consuming facility: means any entity which utilizes electric energy from a central station service. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• Electric public utility: means any public utility, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-101a
• Electric transmission lines: means any line or extension of a line which is at least five (5) miles in length and which is used for the bulk transfer of two hundred thirty (230) kilovolts or more of electricity;

  (c) "Commission" means the state corporation commission. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,177

• Electric utility: means every public utility, as defined by Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Existing nuclear generation facility: means a nuclear generation facility which is in existence on January 1, 2007. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,158
• Federal act: means the federal telecommunications act of 1996, P. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Good faith: means honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction concerned;

  (b) "improvement" means any public grain warehouse, building or other structure permanently affixed to railroad land;

  (c) "lease" means any agreement between a railroad and a tenant, under the terms of which a tenant occupies the surface of railroad land, which shall include track leases when the railroad is a class II or class III railroad as defined in 49 C. See Kansas Statutes 66-532

• High voltage: means electricity in excess of 600 volts measured between conductors or between a conductor and the ground. See Kansas Statutes 66-1710
• Householder: means a person who is 18 or more years of age and who owns or occupies a house as a place of residence and not as a boarder or lodger. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Ionizing radiation: means x-rays, gamma rays, alpha and beta particles, high speed electrons, protons, neutrons and other nuclear particles capable of producing ions directly or indirectly in its passage through matter. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• ISDN: means integrated services digital network which is a network and associated technology that provides simultaneous voice and data communications over a single communications channel. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Landowner: means any person having an estate or interest in any land, which land is proposed to be acquired by an electric utility in connection with the construction, operation and maintenance of a nuclear generation facility. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,158
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a certificate issued by the board authorizing the licensee to perform radiologic technology procedures on humans for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Licensed practitioner: means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery, dentistry, podiatry or chiropractic in this state, or a person licensed as a physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or naturopathic doctor in this state. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Licensee: means (1) the holder of the construction or operating permit from the United States nuclear regulatory commission for a nuclear power generating facility located in the state, if there is only one holder of such a permit or (2) if there are two or more holders of such a permit, those holders which are primarily responsible for the construction or operation of the facility. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local exchange carrier: means any telecommunications public utility or its successor, not to include an electing carrier, providing switched telecommunications service within any local exchange service area, as approved by the commission on or before January 1, 1996. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Miscellaneous public utility: means any public utility, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,230
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Natural gas public utility: means any public utility defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,200
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nuclear generation facility: means any physical plant utilizing nuclear energy as the primary fuel for the production or generation of electricity or electric power. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,158
• Nuclear medicine technologist: means a person who uses radio pharmaceutical agents on humans for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Nuclear medicine technology: means the use of radio nuclides on human beings for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operating area: means :

  (1) In the case of a rural telephone company, operating area or service area means such company's study area or areas as approved by the federal communications commission;

  (2) in the case of a local exchange carrier, other than a rural telephone company, operating area or service area means such carrier's local exchange service area or areas as approved by the commission. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187

• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Overhead lines: means all electrical conductors installed above ground. See Kansas Statutes 66-1710
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any electric utility which owns any portion of a nuclear power generating facility whether directly or through ownership of stock in a company which owns any portion of such a facility. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Party: means any person, firm, corporation, association, municipality, taxpayer, municipal organization, mercantile, agricultural or manufacturing organization or system, public utility or common carrier interested in any matter pending before the state corporation commission or in proceedings for review of an order or decision of the commission. See Kansas Statutes 66-118a
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation or other association of persons. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,158
• person: includes an individual, corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor or successors in interest thereto;

  (e) "public grain warehouse" means any public warehouse or public grain warehouse, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-532

• Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association or corporation. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Person: means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality or governmental unit which contracts to perform any function or activity upon any land, building, highway or other premises in proximity to an overhead line. See Kansas Statutes 66-1710
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt and things in action, and digital assets as defined in the revised uniform fiduciary access to digital assets act, Kan. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Premature closing: means the closing of a nuclear power generating facility before the projected date of decommissioning as projected in the decommissioning financing plan prepared under Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-128l
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: includes personal and real property. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• public grain warehouse: means any public warehouse or public grain warehouse, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-532
• Public utility: means a public utility as defined by Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-118a
• Public utility: means and includes those entities defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1710
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Radiation therapist: means a person who applies radiation to humans for therapeutic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Radiation therapy: means the use of any radiation procedure or article intended for the cure, mitigation or prevention of disease in humans. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Radio common carrier: means any radio common carrier as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,145a
• Radiographer: means a person who applies radiation to humans for diagnostic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Radiography: means the use of ionizing radiation on human beings for diagnostic purposes. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Radiologic technologist: means any person who is a radiographer, radiation therapist or nuclear medicine technologist. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• Radiologic technology: means the use of radioactive substance or equipment emitting or detecting ionizing radiation on humans for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes upon prescription of a licensed practitioner. See Kansas Statutes 65-7302
• railroad: means any railroad company as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-532
• railroad land: means any land acquired by a railroad in strips for right-of-way and any parcel or tract acquired by a railroad adjacent to its right-of-way, to aid in the construction, maintenance and accommodation of its railway and which is occupied pursuant to a lease by a tenant who owns improvements thereon;

  (h) "railroad operations" means the movement, storage or servicing of railroad equipment used for transporting persons or freight;

  (i) "successor in interest" includes any agent, successor, assignee, trustee, receiver or other person acquiring interests or rights in railroad land, including, but not limited to, the owner or holder of any servient estate or right of reversion relating to railroad land; and

  (j) "tenant" means any public warehouseman, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-532

• Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights to them and interest in them, equitable as well as legal. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reconnection: means the commencement of utility service, other than by a utility, to a customer or other person after service has been discontinued by the utility. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Residence: means the place which is adopted by a person as the person's place of habitation and to which, whenever the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Retail electric supplier: means any person, firm, corporation, municipality, association or cooperative corporation engaged in the furnishing of retail electric service. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• road: include public bridges and may be construed to be equivalent to "county way" "county road" "common road" "state road" and "territorial road. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Rural telephone company: has the meaning ascribed to it in the federal act, excluding any local exchange carrier which together with all of its affiliates has 20,000 or more access lines in the state. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• seal: includes an impression of the seal upon the paper alone, as well as upon wax or a wafer affixed to the paper. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Single certified service territory: means that service area in which only one retail electric supplier has been granted a service certificate by the commission. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Station power: means electric energy used for operating equipment necessary for the process of generating electricity at any generating plant owned by a utility or a generating plant specified in subsection (e) of Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,170
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• successor in interest: includes any agent, successor, assignee, trustee, receiver or other person acquiring interests or rights in railroad land, including, but not limited to, the owner or holder of any servient estate or right of reversion relating to railroad land; and

  (j) "tenant" means any public warehouseman, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-532

• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Telecommunication service: means any telephone service or the transmission of a message, signal or other communication by telephone or telegraph or over telephone or telegraph facilities. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Telecommunications carrier: means a corporation, company, individual, association of persons, their trustees, lessees or receivers that provides a telecommunications service, including, but not limited to, interexchange carriers and competitive access providers, but not including local exchange carriers certified before January 1, 1996. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Telecommunications public utility: means any public utility, as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Telecommunications service: means the provision of a service for the transmission of telephone messages, or two-way video or data messages. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• transmission of telephone messages: shall include the transmission by wire or other means of any voice, data, signals or facsimile communications, including all such communications now in existence or as may be developed in the future. See Kansas Statutes 66-104
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Undertaking: means a promise or security in any form where required by law. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Universal service: means telecommunications services and facilities which include: single party, two-way voice grade calling; stored program controlled switching with vertical service capability; E-911 capability; tone dialing; access to operator services; access to directory assistance; and equal access to long distance services. See Kansas Statutes 66-1,187
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Utility: means any "public utility" as defined in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Utility service: means the provision of electricity, gas, water, telecommunication or any other service or commodity furnished by the utility for compensation. See Kansas Statutes 66-1601
• Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Kansas Statutes 66-1329
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Wrecker or towing service: means the act of transporting, towing or recovering with a wrecker, tow truck or car carrier, any vehicle not owned by the operator of the wrecker, tow truck or car carrier for which the operator receives compensation or other personal gain, either directly or indirectly, except that such terms shall not include a private wrecker or towing service. See Kansas Statutes 66-1329