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.
Chesapeake is an independent city located in the South Hampton Roads portion of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia in the United States. One of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads, Chesapeake was formed in 1963 by a political consolidation of the City of South Norfolk with the former Norfolk County, which dated to 1691. Chesapeake is the second-largest city by land area in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Chesapeake is a diverse city with few urban areas as well as many square miles of protected farmland, forests, and wetlands, including a substantial portion of the Great Dismal Swamp. Extending all the way from the rural border with North Carolina to the harbor area of Hampton Roads adjacent to the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Chesapeake is located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and has miles of waterfront industrial, commercial and residential property. It is currently the third largest city in Virginia in terms of population. In 2006, its population was estimated to be 220,560, a 10.7% increase since its 2000 census count . Its median household income in 2007 was $63,016, the highest in South Hampton Roads .