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.
Linville is a community centered just south of the US 221 and NC 105 intersection in Avery County, North Carolina. The community -- at times known as Clay or Porcelain -- was founded in 1891 and named for William and John Linville, who were killed by Cherokees in 1766. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") passed through the community from 1916 till 1940, when a major flood washed away the tracks;; the old rail route later became NC 105 in 1956.