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.
Cobden is a village in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,116 at the 2000 census. It is named after British politician and free-trade advocate Richard Cobden, who visited the town in 1859.