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.
Tobyhanna is an unincorporated community in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. From about 1900 to 1936, Tobyhanna lakes were the site of active ice industries. The ice was cut from the lakes during the winter and stored in large barn-like structures. During the rest of the year, the ice was added to railroad boxcars hauling fresh produce and meats destined for East Coast cities. In 1912, Tobyhanna had a railway station, telegraph, and post office, and so the federal government acquired land within Tobyhanna that became the Tobyhanna Military Reservation, later Tobyhanna Army Depot, which was used as an Artillery training ground. In the summer of 1916 Edward B. Reed recorded the following quote about Tobyhanna in The Field Artillery Journal January-March 1917 of the experiences of the Yale Batteries during their training. "The camp at Tobyhanna is on a rocky, treeless crest from which no trace of man is visible. About are mountains and uncultivated valleys. The village of Tobyhanna is interesting only because it contains a station that enables you to leave it. No better place for work could be found. " In recent years, due to its location between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, and construction of new homes by developers, many families from these areas decided to move to the Poconos. Many of Tobyhanna's residents choose to commute to the city each day.