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.
Mazama (population 230) is a small village nestled in the Methow Valley of the Methow River in the eastern part of Washington. It is 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Winthrop and about 28 miles (45 km) from the Canadian border. Located on the eastern flank of the Cascade mountain range, forests of Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine cover Mazama and the surrounding area, which is home to one of the world's longest cross-country skiing trails, stretching for 120 miles (193 km) and running through the town itself. Mazama's town center elevation is 2,178 feet (664 meters) and it is located 2.7 miles south, and 4,700 feet below Goat Peak. Mazama and Winthrop recorded the coldest temperature ever measured in Washington state at −48 °F (-44.4 °C) on December 30, 1968. In the 19th century the town was called "Goat Creek". When a post office was secured in 1899 the settlers chose a name they thought was Greek for "mountain goat". They later discovered that they had looked in the wrong dictionary. Mazama means "mountain goat" in Spanish, not Greek. Since 2006, Mazama has been the site of Caps Camping.