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.
Leopold is a small unincorporated community in Perry County in the U.S. state of Indiana. Located fifteen miles north of the Ohio River, this little village was founded in 1842 by the Reverend Augustine Bessonies and named for the then reigning king of Belgium, Léopold I. Most of the original settlers of Leopold were Belgian immigrants. With a population of less than 100, Leopold is the site of a Roman Catholic church, St. Augustine, a general store, Guillaume's Store, a restaurant, Marcy's, and a quiet atmosphere reminiscent of another time. On the last Sunday in July, Leopold holds its annual St. Augustine's picnic, which serves both as a fund raiser for the local parish and as a homecoming for former residents.