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.
Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,766 at the 2000 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15. Beardstown was the birthplace of the jazz vibraphone pioneer Red Norvo.