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.
Selbyville is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Seaford, Delaware Micropolitan Statistical Area. Selbyville traces its history back to its founding in 1778. It was incorporated in 1902. Selbyville was originally known as Sandy Branch due to its location at the head of the St. Martin's River, where a grist mill and saw mill operated. In 1842, Sampson Selby began marking packages for delivery to his country store, Selby-Ville. By 1918, Selbyville was the major supplier of strawberries for the entire east coast, an industry that remained strong until the 1930s. Today, one of its main employers is Mountaire Farms, a poultry company, which runs a processing plant on Hosier Street. This town is also home of the Mumford Sheet Metal Works, which once held the world record for the largest frying pan in 1950.