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.
Geneseo is the name of a town and its village in Livingston County in western New York, USA, outside of Rochester, New York. The town's population is approximately 9,600, of which about 7,600 live in the village. The English name "Geneseo" is an anglicization of the Iroquois name for the earlier Iroquois town there, Gen-nis-he-yo (which means "beautiful valley"). Entirely contained within the western part of the town at the junction of Routes 39, 63, and U.S. 20A is the village of Geneseo, the county seat of Livingston County. A portion of the village — the Geneseo Historic District — was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior in 1991.