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.
East Greenbush is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 15,560 at the 2000 census. The word Greenbush is derived from the Dutch "Groenen Bosch," referring to the pine woods that originally covered the land. The first settlement of the land now known as East Greenbush was made by tenants under Patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer around 1630. The town was formed in 1855 as the town of Clinton, the name changing to East Greenbush three years later. It is mostly suburban along its major highways and rural in the southwestern and northeastern corners. Interstate 90 passes through the town. It contains the west (or south) end of US Route 4 and the northern terminus of NY Route 9J; as well as US Route 9 and US Route 20. The last two are concurrent, under the name Columbia Turnpike, and is often referred to by locals as "9 and 20".