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.
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Santa Ana. As of January 1, 2009, the population was 86,252. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Newport Beach lies within the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area. The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings making Newport Beach one of the wealthiest communities in California, and in United States overall. As of February 2010 Portfolio. com ranked Newport Beach, California the richest U.S. city. The Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, CA a neighboring city newspaper reported more than a quarter households have an income greater than $200,000, and the median value for homes exceeds $1 million.