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.
Odessa is a city in Ector and Midland counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located primarily in Ector County, in which it is the county seat. Odessa's population was 96,943 at the 2000 census(though a July 1, 2008, estimate placed the population at 98,801). It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Ector County. The metropolitan area is also a component of the larger Midland–Odessa, Texas Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 261,435 as of July 1, 2008. estimate.