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.
Columbia is a town in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the James and Rivanna Rivers. The population was 49 at the 2000 census, making it Virginia's smallest incorporated town. It was the site of a minor battle during the Revolutionary War, historical reenactments of which are held annually. Columbia is part of the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.