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.
Newtonia is a village in Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 231 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. Newtonia was the site of the Battles of Newtonia. Newtonia has some Antebellum houses, such as the Ritchey Mansion, as well as a cemetery for Civil War dead. It is presently a farming community and is immediately adjacent to Stark City, Missouri. In 2008, a tornado struck the town damaging many homes including the Ritchey Mansion.