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.
Wheaton is an affluent community, located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,676. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor.