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.
Marksville is a city in and the parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,537 at the 2000 census. Louisiana's first land based casino, Paragon Casino Resort, opened in Marksville in June 1994. It is run by the Tunica-Biloxi tribe. The city was named after Marc Eliche, who established a trading post after his wagon broke down in this area.. He was an Italian trader, believe to be from Venice, whose Italian name was Marco Litche, that became Marc Eliche after his trading post was established in 1794. Marksville was noted on Louisiana maps as of 1809. He later donated land that became the Courthouse Square that is still the center of Marksville today.