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.
Norris is a small unincorporated community in northeastern Madison County, Montana, United States, at the intersection of U.S. Route 287 and Montana Highway 84. The location is a hilly, relatively arid area used for farming and ranching; the Tobacco Root Mountains form a visual backdrop to the west. Several mining districts were located in the area in the 1860s, though their success was generally brief. A now-abandoned branchline of the former Northern Pacific Railway once terminated at Norris. Norris Hot Springs is just east of the town, and an agricultural experiment station operated by Montana State University - Bozeman is at Red Bluff, about three miles east on Highway 84.