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.
Bethany Beach is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 943. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware Micropolitan Statistical Area. Bethany Beach, together with the towns of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island, comprises Delaware's beach resort area and is Sussex County's most densely-populated and fastest-growing area. Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island are popularly known as "The Quiet Resorts". Assisting Bethany Beach's reputation as a "quiet" place is the presence of Delaware Seashore State Park immediately to the north of the town, a six mile-long barrier island. Despite its small size, Bethany Beach boasts the usual attractions of a summer seaside resort, including a short boardwalk, a broad, sandy beach, motels, restaurants, and vacation homes. Because Bethany Beach does not sit on a barrier island, residential areas continue some distance to the west of the town's limits.