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.
Madras is a city in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. Originally called The Basin after the circular valley the city is located in, it is unclear as to whether Madras was named in 1903 for the cotton fabric called "Madras" that originated in the Chennai area in India, or from the city of Chennai, which was also "Madras". The population was 5,078 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 6,640 in 2008. It is the county seat of Jefferson County.