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.
Machias is a town which is most famous for the role it had in the American Revolution. Machias is in and the county seat of Washington County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,353. It is home to the University of Maine at Machias and Machias Valley Airport, a small public airport owned by the town. The word Machias roughly translates to "bad little falls" in Passamaquoddy. Located on the Machias River in downeast Maine, it was settled in 1763 by settlers from Scarborough.