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.
Augusta is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 218 at the 2000 census. The town boasts wineries, antique shops, retaurants, B&B's, a wood shop, a glass studio, massage therapy, and The Augusta Brewery. Most notably, the Town of Augusta is home to two wineries, Augusta Winery and Mount Pleasant Winery, along with Balducci Winery and Montelle Winery (also in the Augusta zip code) and other wineries nearby. The Augusta area was recognized by the federal government in 1980 as the first designated American Viticultural Area in the United States, beating out Napa Valley. The concentration of wineries along SH 94 has led to the road's being called the Missouri Weinstrasse (wine road). The larger region on both sides of the river nearly to Jefferson City is called the Missouri Rhineland. Augusta is a popular stop along the Katy Trail, a 225-mile-long bike and walking path built along a former railroad right-of-way.