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.
Steinhatchee is a Gulf coastal community in Taylor County, Florida located at 29°40′16″N 83°23′15″W / 29.67111°N 83.3875°W / 29.67111; -83.3875 (26.671111, -83.387500), 33 miles (53 km) south of the county seat of Perry. The Stein in Steinhatchee is pronounced as if it were spelled Steen, rather than Stine. Steinhatchee means 'Dead Man's River', or 'Dead Man's Bay'. Since the early 1800's, the small village of Steinhatchee played an integral part in the foresting industry, as well as fishing, crabbing, and scalloping.