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.
Jonesville is a town in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, at the confluence of the Ouachita, Tensas, and Little rivers. The three rivers become the Black River at Jonesville though the "Black" is primarily the continuation of the Ouachita River. A new bridge over the Black River is under construction. After some miles, the Black flows into the Red River. The Jonesville population was 2,469 at the 2000 census. The parish seat is Harrisonburg to the north, which is actually smaller than Jonesville. Chris Shivers, a champion rodeo performer, lives with his family in Jonesville. William B. Atkins, a former member of both house of the Louisiana State Legislature (1980–1988), is from Jonesville.