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.
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 16,508. It is a primarily white, upper-middle class community outside New York City. Nationwide, Wyckoff ranks 53rd in 100 highest-income places in the United States (with a population of at least 10,000). Statewide, Wyckoff ranks 44th in New Jersey locations by per capita income. From the mid-18th century, what is now Wyckoff was a community within Franklin Township, which consisted of most of northern Bergen County west of the Saddle River. Starting in the 1840s, several new municipalities were created from portions of Franklin Township, so that today what is now Wyckoff borders eight different communities. Wyckoff was formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 2, 1926, replacing Franklin Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Portions of Wyckoff were ceded to Midland Park based on the results of a referendum held on June 9, 1931. The most commonly given origin for the name Wyckoff, which was the origin accepted by the town committee when the town was established, is that Wyckoff is from the Lenape word "wickoff", meaning high ground, or that it is from "wickok" meaning water. Another theory is that the town was named for Brooklyn judge Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (1625-1694). The surname comes from the Dutch words "Wyk," meaning parish and "Hof," meaning court. None of these origins is supported with solid historical evidence. The town has 13 churches, one synagogue, five public schools, three volunteer fire stations, and one volunteer ambulance corps.