mass tort
A civil wrong that injures many people. • Examples include toxic emissions from a factory, the crash of a commercial airliner, and contamination from an industrial-waste-disposal site. Cf. toxic tort.
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toxic tort
A civil wrong arising from exposure to a toxic substance, such as asbestos, radiation, or hazardous waste. • A toxic tort can be remedied by a civil lawsuit (usu. a class action) or by administrative action. Cf. mass tort. [Cases: Negligence 306; Products Liability 43. C.J.S. Products Liability § 51.]
closed
closed, adj. 1. (Of a class or organization) confined to a limited number (a closed mass-tort class) (nonunion workers were excluded from the closed shop). 2. (Of a proceeding or gathering) conducted in secrecy (a closed hearing) (a closed shareholders’ meeting).
settlement class
Numerous similarly situated people for whom a claimant’s representative and an adversary propose a contract specifying the payment terms for the class members’ claims in exchange for the release of all claims against the adversary. • During the 1980s and 1990s, mass-tort defendants began using settlement classes as a means of foreclosing claims by some