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.
Gardiner is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, across the Umpqua River from Reedsport. It is located on U.S. Route 101. Gardiner is named for a Boston merchant whose ship, the Bostonian, shipwrecked at the mouth of the Umpqua on October 1, 1850. Gardiner was seeking to trade along the river, and most of his goods were saved from the ship and moved to the location that came to be the town of Gardiner. In 1851, the site became the headquarters of the Umpqua customs district, and a post office named "Gardiners City" was established the same year. The name of the post office changed to "Gardiner City" and eventually to its current name. The Gardiner Historic District, which dates to 1870, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. Several steamboats were constructed at Gardiner for trade up the Umpqua River. A lumber mill opened in Gardiner in 1954. Gardiner was formerly the site of the first International Paper mill on the West Coast. The paper mill operated from 1963 until 1999, and was one of the largest employers on the southern Oregon Coast. The mill buildings were demolished in 2006. A railroad, Longview, Portland & Northern (LP&N), served the IP mill until it closed. The railroad runs from East Gardiner Junction to the old plant site. LP&N plans to resume operations in 2007 at the same location.