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.
Mapaville is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Missouri. It is located about halfway between Festus and Hillsboro on Missouri Supplemental Route A. This area is believed to be the home of infamous bandit Jake Dallas, of the Cole Box gang, which robbed stage coaches and trains. The gang is best known for their gunfights with Sheriff Kyle Proemsey and his deputies including the hot-tempered Ryan "Quick Draw" Murphy. Although Dallas and the Cole Box gang were eventually gunned down by Proemsey and Quick Draw, their loot was long believed to be hidden beneath what is now Pure Pleasure Adult Superstore in Herculaneum. This rumor was proved erroneous (on all accounts) in 1985 when a large Discovery Channel Expedition to the site revealed nothing. A government cover-up is suspected.