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.
Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. The population of Portales and its near suburbs, contained in Zip Code 88130, was nearly 17,000 people in 2007, not including a majority of the city's college students. 2007 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis as well as Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the economy of the region. Eastern New Mexico University opened in Portales in 1934 and has grown to become the third largest university in the state. Portales is one of the largest producers of Valencia peanuts in the United States and is the nation's top producer of Certified Organic peanut butter. Portales is home to over 40 dairies and a major US dairy solids plant, together producing and exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of local milk products each year. Portales is the principal city of the Portales Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Clovis-Portales Combined Statistical Area, including Clovis, 20 miles away and Cannon Air Force Base, 12 miles away.