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.
Corte Madera (formerly, Adams) is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Corte Madera is located 3.25 miles (5.2 km) south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m). The population was 9,100 at the 2000 census. In 1980 the town merged its police department with that of its neighbor Larkspur into the Twin Cities Police Authority. In Spanish, Corte Madera means "chopped wood". The area was famous for producing lumber out of redwood trees which went into the construction of the city of San Francisco.