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.
Lodi is a city located in San Joaquin County, California, in the northern portion of California's central valley. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of Jan. 1, 2009 is 69,411. In recent years it has become an increasingly popular exurb for commuters priced out of home ownership in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lodi is best known as a center of wine production (the "Zinfandel Capital of the World"), although its vintages have traditionally been less prestigious than those of Sonoma and Napa counties. However, in recent years, the Lodi Appellation has become increasingly respected for its Zinfandel wine and other eclectic varietals. Nearby Woodbridge is the home of the well known winery, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. Mondavi grew up in Lodi, and Mondavi Winery is considered one of the most influential in the American wine industry. Lodi gained international attention in 2005 when local residents Hamid and Umer Hayat were arrested and charged in the first terrorism trial in the state of California.