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.
Oglethorpe is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,200 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Macon County. It was named for Georgia's founder, James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe was once one of the largest cities in Georgia, and by the 1850s, was tagged as "The Metropolis of Southwest Georgia". By the late 1850s, the city had a population of around 20,000. A Malaria and Smallpox epidemic wiped out most of the city's population in the early 1860s and the remaining residents in Oglethorpe fled south to Americus.