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.
Westport is a coastal town located on Long Island Sound in Fairfield County, Connecticut, 47 miles north of New York City in the United States. The population was estimated at 26,615 in 2005. Westport is one of the most affluent communities in the United States and is home to the Westport Country Playhouse, a longtime regional theater, the Levitt Pavilion providing free concerts, an arts council, the Westport Public Library, and a heritage as a former artists' colony.