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.
Winfield is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. The population was 1,858 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Winfield was established on a 400 acre (1.6 km²) tract of land owned by Charles Brown. He established a ferry across the river in 1818. The first meeting of the county court was held at the home of Talleyrand P. Brown, in Winfield, on May 22, 1848. The town was incorporated on February 21, 1868 and named in honor of General Winfield Scott, the commanding General of the American Army during the War with Mexico.