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.
Wheatland is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, along the Shenango River. The population was 748 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Wheatland suffered extensive damage on May 31, 1985, when a severe tornado struck the area. The tornado killed 18 (seven of whom were Wheatland residents), injured over 300, and was easily the most powerful and damaging in Pennsylvania's history.