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.
Rockbridge is an unincorporated community in northern Ozark County, Missouri. It is the site of an old mill on spring fed Spring Creek a tributary of Bryant Creek, which still houses the post office. It is twelve miles north of Gainesville off Route 95. The town was founded in the 19th century by pioneer families from Marion County, Kentucky, led by Captain Kim Amyx. The community was burned down during the American Civil War and rebuilt after the war. Rockbridge was once the county seat of a greater Ozark County, which encompassed today's Douglas, Howell, and Ozark Counties. The community is now owned by the Rainbow Trout & Game Ranch and Rockbridge Gun Club, founded in 1954, and includes a trout fish hatchery. This community is in a karst region, with caves, springs, and natural stone bridges nearby. Just to the north along the Bryant Creek floodplain in Douglas County is Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery.