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.
Belle Plaine is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,878 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. Belle Plaine is located on both the historic Lincoln Highway and the cross country tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Belle Plaine area was hard hit by the February 24, 2007 ice storm with power outages.