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.
Shelburne Falls is a census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,951 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Notable features include the Bridge of Flowers, a former trolley bridge over the Deerfield River that is now maintained by the Shelburne Falls Women's Club as a floral display from April through October; and the glacial potholes of the Deerfield River. Bill and Camille Cosby are well known and admired residents of the area, though they keep a relatively low profile. The downtown is alive and well, including an independently-owned pharmacy with a soda fountain, one coffeeshop, several restaurants, two pizza joints, a bookstore, a newsstand, a grocery store, a natural foods store, and the candlepin Shelburne Falls Bowling Alley. A community newspaper, the West County Independent, serves Shelburne Falls and the surrounding towns. On the Shelburne side of town is the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School, with over 200 students.