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.
Otis is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, a half mile north of Otis Junction on Oregon Route 18. It is near the Salmon River. According to USA Today, in 2005 the Otis area had a population of about 3,000. Otis post office was established in 1900 and was named after Otis Thompson, nephew of Archibald S. Thompson, the postmaster. U.S. Route 101 used to pass through Otis until a curvy and hilly section of road was rerouted in the 1960s. Otis Junction is at the intersection of the former terminus of Oregon Route 18 and the former alignment of U.S. 101. The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology has an Otis mailing address but is located nearer to the coast on Cascade Head. The Otis ZIP code, 97368, also covers the community of Rose Lodge. Today Otis and Otis Junction are considered synonymous. Otis made the national headlines in 1999 and again in 2004, when it was announced that the town was for sale for $3 million. The news stories describe the Otis Café and other amenities that are at Otis Junction; it is unclear if the 193 acres that were for sale included the land in Otis proper. Owner Vivian Lematta's grandfather bought the land from descendants of the Siletz Indians for $800 in 1910. Lematta left Otis in 1957. Included in the sale were the gas station and mini grocery store, a Pronto Pup corn dog stand, two houses, an empty 25-stall horse barn, a helicopter storage shed, a garage, a Grange hall, the Otis post office, the Otis Café, an auto-repair garage and 190 acres of farmland. Part of the land was used for raising cattle and part was undergoing timber conservation.