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.
Hermantown is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, USA. The population was 7,448 at the 2000 census. A suburb of Duluth, Minnesota, it has been the only city in the county to report population growth as much of the area's residential and commercial expansion occurs there. Hermantown is located on the tip of Lake Superior. The eastern section of the city has an appearance typical of a lower-density bedroom community, with large, leafy lots and occasional subdivisions. The car-oriented "mall area" Miller Trunk Corridor of Duluth has sprawled well past the border into this part of Hermantown. The western part is dominated by a more rural landscape, reminiscent of the past agricultural focus of the city. Hermantown's motto is "The City of Quality Living ". One of Hermantown's more interesting features is the proliferation of "Jackson Homes" on certain roads. These single-family dwellings were built during the Great Depression as subsistence homesteads. Many today retain their original brick appearance, albeit with additions. Hermantown's current mayor is Wayne Boucher, who won a 2008 election against opponent Susie Stockinger.