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.
The village of Cherry Valley, Illinois is a small community in the Kishwaukee River valley, which borders the south east side of Rockford, Illinois. Parts of Cherry Valley lie both in Winnebago County and Boone County, Illinois. The population was 2,191 at the 2000 census. Its current population (2007) is estimated at 3,042. Cherry Valley is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.