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.
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, billed by the Chamber of Commerce as the "birthplace of the American industrial revolution", and an early center for the labor movement. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning. The city is now a center for research and higher education, home to Brandeis University and Bentley University. The population was 59,226 at the census in 2000. Waltham is commonly referred to as Watch City because of its association with the watch industry. Waltham Watch Company opened its factory in Waltham in 1854 and was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The company produced over 40 million watches, clocks and instruments before it closed in 1957.