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.
Belle Chasse is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 9,848 at the 2000 census. There is little concurrence regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French, belle chasse literally means "beautiful hunting. " It is widely believed that it was named so for the richness of wildlife the initial French settlers observed when they first settled in the region. Others say that Belle Chasse was named after a Colonel Joseph D. Bellechasse, who lived in New Orleans around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Belle Chasse was the home town of Confederate statesman Judah P. Benjamin. Belle Chasse is the largest town in Plaquemines Parish. Benny Rousselle, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the former president of Plaquemines Parish government, is from Belle Chasse.