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.
Watertown is a city in the State of New York and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is situated near the Canadian border and the Thousand Islands. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 26,705. The U.S. Army post Fort Drum is near the city. Named after the many falls located on the Black River, the city developed early in the 19th century as a manufacturing center. From years of generating industrial wealth, in the early 20th century the city was said to have more millionaires per capita than any other city in the nation. Residents of Watertown built a rich public and private architectural legacy. It is the smallest city to have a park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the celebrated landscape architect who created Central Park in New York City. Geographically, Watertown is located in the central part of Jefferson County. It lies 72.0 miles northeast of Syracuse, New York and 31 miles south of the Canadian border. The city is served by Watertown International Airport. The city is known as the birthplace of the "Five and dime" and the safety pin. It manufactured the first portable steam engine. It has the longest continually operating county fair in the United States and holds the Red and Black football franchise, the oldest surviving semi-professional team in the United States.