A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants. The tort may involve, for example, personal injuries suffered by numerous plaintiffs as a result of a defective product, or a mass disaster in which there were many injured persons, such as an airplane crash, or exposure of a large group of people to toxic chemicals or pharmaceuticals.
Florence is a city in and the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state. According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721. Florence is the largest and principal city of the Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". Florence is considered the primary economic hub of northwestern Alabama. Florence was surveyed for the Cypress Land Company in 1818 by Italian surveyor Ferdinand Sannoner, who named it after Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region of Italy. Florence, Alabama was incorporated in 1826. Florence is renowned for its annual tourism events, including W.C. Handy Music Festival in the summer, and the Renaissance Faire in the autumn. Landmarks in Florence include the Rosenbaum House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home located in Alabama. The type of municipal government is mayor-council. Draft beer became legal in Florence on Saturday, September 1, 2007.