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.
Eckhart Mines is an unincorporated town in Allegany County, Maryland, USA. Eckhart Mines lies at the southwestern base of Federal Hill, 2.9 km (1.8 mi) east of Frostburg and 1.3 km (0.8 mi) northwest of Clarysville. The town was originally founded as a company town for the nearby Eckhart Mines. The outcrop of the Pittsburgh coal seam here is known locally as the big vein or the 14 foot coal. The Eckhart Mines' location here was the first bituminous coal mine developed in the Georges Creek Valley coalfield because this is where The National Road crossed the coal outcrop. The Eckhart operation was owned by the Maryland Mining Company which eventually combined with other companies to form the Consolidation Coal Company.