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.
Balm is an unincorporated, rural community located in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, approximately 18 miles southeast of Tampa. It is the location of Goodson Farms packing house and vegetable/fruit stand. In 2005, Goodsons had begun rebuilding the stand on the intersection of McGrady Road and 301. It was completed in late 2006. There are also four tropical fish farms and a small holding area for Barnum and Bailey's circus animals. One well known landmark is the Balm post office, which has been part of the community for over 50 years. The small town is undergoing construction of new houses and may eventually be upgraded to a suburb, hopefully bringing mail delivery and broadband Internet service to the area. As of today, the town is constantly being neglected by the county. On January 17, 2007, it was announced that a previously scheduled mitigation project had been canceled. This was attributed to the weak real-estate.