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Civil Court Basics

Civil court is a government institution that settles disputes between two or more entities, typically in the same courthouse that also tries criminal cases. Sometimes, the same action (such as assault) will be tried both in civil and criminal court. Civil court cases may involve any combination of private citizens, businesses, government institutions, or other parties. Typically, the function of a civil court is to determine liability of one party for the injuries, which do not necessarily need to be of a physical nature, that are suffered by another party. FindLaw's Civil Court Basics section includes articles about class action lawsuits, the role of courts in government, a glossary of terms used in courts, and other related information and resources.

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