Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Riverside is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area of Southern California, and is approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of Los Angeles. With a population of 293,201 people in 2000, it is the 61st largest city in the United States and 12th largest city in the U.S. State of California, however as of 2008, Riverside had an estimated population of 311,575. Additionally, Riverside is the county seat of Riverside County, and is so named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. The city spans 98.4 sq mi (255.0 km2) in Southern California and is anchor to the America's 25th largest metropolitan area with 4.1 million people spread out over 27,298 sq. mi. (70,669 km²) in Southern California. Riverside was founded in the early 1870s and is the birthplace of the California citrus industry as well as home of the Mission Inn Hotel, the largest Mission Revival Style building in the United States. It is also home of the Riverside National Cemetery. Many attractions known by people of the Inland Empire are located near or in the city such as the University of California, Riverside, the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, which houses exhibits and artifacts of local history, the California Museum of Photography, the California Citrus State Historic Park as well as the Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree, planted in 1873 and one of two original orange trees in California.