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.
Lawrence is the 6th largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County. Located 25 miles east of Topeka, Kansas, and 41 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri, it is situated along the banks of the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. In 2008, the city had an estimated population of 90,520. Lawrence is a college town and is the home to the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.