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.
Elkridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 22,042 at the 2000 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is located at the confluence of three counties, the other two being Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. It is bordered on the north by Catonsville, on the east by Linthicum and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, on the south by Dorsey, and on the west by Ellicott City and various small communities between it and Columbia.