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.
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles (98 km) north of the U.S. -Mexico border. The 2008 Census Bureau estimate puts the city's population at 541,811, with a metropolitan area population at 1,023,320 as of July 1, 2008. In 2005, Tucson ranked as the 32 largest city and 52 largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is the largest city in southern Arizona and the second largest in the state. Tucson is home to the University of Arizona. Major incorporated suburbs of Tucson include Oro Valley and Marana northwest of the city, Sahuarita south of the city, and South Tucson in an enclave south of downtown. Communities in the vicinity of Tucson (some within or overlapping the city limits) include Casas Adobes, Catalina, Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Green Valley, Tanque Verde, New Pascua, Vail and Benson. Tucson has four main mountain ranges, one to the north known as the Santa Catalina Mountains, to the east are the Rincon Mountains, south the Santa Rita Mountains will be found, and west are the Tucson Mountains. The highest point in the area is Mount Wrightson found in the Santa Rita Mountains at 9,453 feet above sea level, surpassing Mount Lemmon by about 300 feet. The English name Tucson derives from the Spanish name of the city, Tucsón, which was borrowed from the, meaning "(at the) base of the black [hill]", a reference to an adjacent volcanic mountain. Tucson is sometimes referred to as "The Old Pueblo".