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.
Telford is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Tennessee, United States, between Jonesborough and Limestone. Originally, Millwood was the name of the Telford area, according to the map of Washington County, Tennessee Post Offices (1796-1900). The community was called Millwood in early times and continued so for many years. It was not until 1855, when Colonel George Whitfield Telford donated about four acres of land to support local operations of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, that the name Millwood was changed to Telford Depot. At a date sometime after 1876 the word "Depot" was discontinued and the single name Telford adopted. Col. George Whitfield Telford, was a major influence in the development of the county. He operated the Telford Manufacturing Company and also served as a state senator. Telford is located in the Eastern Standard Time Zone at a latitude of 36.248N and a longitude of -82.545W. The elevation is 1,555 feet. The community is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region. During the Civil War, citizens of this part of Washington County voted to secede from the Confederacy, but they were unsuccessful in persuading others to do so. The independent nation called "Bricker's Republic" was soon left to relative obscurity.