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.
Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois. The population was 33,435 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 34,190 as of 2005. When incorporated in 1901, the village was known as Shermerville in honor of Frederick Schermer, who donated the land for its first train station. The village changed its name to Northbrook in 1923 as an effort to improve its public image. The name was chosen because the west fork of the north branch of the Chicago River runs through the Village. Glenbrook North High School, founded in 1953 as Glenbrook High School, is located in Northbrook, as are the corporate headquarters of Underwriters Laboratories, Allstate Corporation, The Land of Nod, and Crate and Barrel. The village is also home to Northbrook Court shopping mall, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome, and the Northbrook Public Library.