New Jersey Litigation Confirms Electricity Is Complex

by Dennis C. Linken on June 20, 2012

It may seem simple: after all, we simply insert a plug into a wall socket, turn the switch, and voila, the light works! A recent New Jersey case, however, concluded that what may appear to be simple is not necessarily so.

The plaintiffs, Curtis Westover and Joyce Westover, owned property in Hillsborough, Township, New Jersey. In June 1999, the Westovers hired Gregory Scurato to perform electrical work on their barn to prepare it for electrical service to be provided by Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L). Six years later a fire broke out on the Westovers’ property destroying their barn. The Hillsborough Fire Marshall, called to the scene to investigate, observed “power lines actively arcing in the rear of the building and reported having heard loud popping, hissing sounds of … high voltage electricity grounding.”