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.
Branson is a Statutory Town in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 77 at the 2000 census. It is the southernmost town in the state of Colorado, located just 0.30 miles (0.48 km) from the New Mexico border. Branson is located 35 miles east of Trinidad, Colorado, on State Highway 389, in the Great Plains, as well in the Black Mesa area, the town is surrounded by mesa. It is a ranching community today. Farming in the area was severely impacted by the dust bowl. Branson is much smaller than it once was in more optimistic days and features some picturesque abandoned buildings. The town was first known as Wilson, or Wilson Switch; then as Coloflats. A post office was established in 1915, and its name was changed to Branson in 1918. The town is named after Josiah F. Branson who platted the town on his land. The town was incorporated in 1921. Branson is located north of a break in the mesas which separate Southeast Colorado from Northwest New Mexico, the route of a minor branch of the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded near a switch, Wilson Switch, of the Denver, Texas, and Fort Worth Railroad, now the Colorado and Southern Railway. A depot was built in 1918. Despite being unsuitable for farming, many homesteaders attempted dryland farming in the early 20th century. In good years there were bountiful harvests of grain and in the 1920s the town boasted 1000 people and 3 grain elevators as well as facilities such as a bank and a newspaper. After the drought and dust bowl of the 1930s population decreased rapidly as the economy turned from farming to ranching.