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.
Bellaire is a city in southwest Harris County, Texas, United States within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston and West University Place. Bellaire is known as the "City of Homes" as the city is mostly residential, while there are offices along the 610 Loop within the city limits. As of 2000, Bellaire is the 27th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income. John Nova Lomax, a journalist, stated in a 2008 Houston Press article that, due to the growth and dominance of Houston, municipal enclaves with their own services, including Bellaire, "are little more than glorified neighborhoods."