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.
Columbia is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River across from Wrightsville. Originally, the place was called "Wright's Ferry. " It was founded in 1726 by English Quakers from Chester County. Population counts were these: in 1890, 10,199; in 1900, 12,316; in 1910, 11,454; in 1920, 10,836; and in 1940, 11,547. The population was 10,311 at the 2000 census.