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.
Pelkie is an unincorporated community in Baraga County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is on the Sturgeon River in the northeast part of Baraga Township at 46°48′48″N 88°38′11″W / 46.81333°N 88.63639°W / 46.81333; -88.63639. Pelkie was settled by French Canadian woodsmen in about 1885, and was first known as "King's Landing" and was renamed Pelkie after an early settler. Finns who settled there initially called the place Kyrö, after the place they came from in Finland. The name became Kuro after a railroad was built through the area. The precise name of the early settler is unknown. Because many Finns settled in the area, the Finnish name Pelkinen has been suggested as the original. However, the name may also have been derived from a former French-Canadian settler. It was a station on the Michigan Central Railroad, and a post office was established on April 30, 1903. The Pelkie ZIP code 49958 serves areas in the north and northwest of Baraga Township in Baraga County, as well as an area of northeast Laird Township, southwest Elm River Township, and southern Portage Township in Houghton County.