Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim. For instance, if a car crash victim claims damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, this will be a civil law case. Civil law courts provide a forum for deciding disputes involving torts (such as accidents, negligence, and libel), contract disputes, the probate of wills, trusts, property disputes, administrative law, commercial law, and any other private matters that involve private parties or organizations including government departments. The objectives of civil law are different from other types of law. In civil law there is the attempt to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or settle a dispute. If there is a victim, they get compensation, and the person who is the cause of the wrong pays, this being a civilized form of, or legal alternative to, revenge.
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,423 at the 2000 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast. Bodega Bay is the site of the first Russian structures built in California. These were built in 1809 by Commerce Counseller Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, of the Russian-American Company in the lead up to the establishment of Fort Ross. For the Russians, the settlement in Bodega Bay was called Port Rumyantsev, named after the Russian Foreign Minister Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, and it served as a port to support Fort Ross and the larger Russian community known as Colony Ross. The Alfred Hitchcock-directed film, The Birds, was filmed in Bodega Bay. The town markets itself with the film in many ways, including its Birds-themed Visitors' Center. The location was also featured in the cult horror movie Puppet Master. Bodega Bay is located at 38°19′28″N 123°02′19″W / 38.324356°N 123.038591°W / 38.324356; -123.038591.