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.
Lafayette is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 530 at the 2000 census. It is a small farming community just outside of the larger town of New Ulm, Minnesota. Lafayette is part of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lafayette is a farming community home to such farming legends as Paul Martens, Paul Guggisberg, Clarence Maidl and Jon Thoreson. Lafayette leads the nation in hog production thanks to Evergreen farms, run by Mr. Tom Hayes and family. It also leads the nation in Dairy production thanks to Wallace-Hill farms run by Mr. and Mrs. Tim Johnson. Lafayette is also known for the beef operation run by Henry Thoreson which is said to have "revolutionized" beef production today. Lafayette is also the home of the United Farmer's Coop, who employs such specialists as livestock specialist Kim Hague, Grain Bin specialist Mark Kral and Employee of the Decade Sheri Lebrun Lafayette is known for its local bar Dave's Place and the local C-Store gas station where many farming legends meet for breakfast and morning gossip. Located in the town are the fields which are home to the legendary Lafayette Bi-County team and the Nicollet County West Teams. The fields consist of stadium seating, a full playground and have been known to double as wading pools for the local youngsters after a quarter inch of rain. The Lafayette Bi-County Team has been coached by baseball legends Curt Thoreson, David Warmbold and Andy Reed Its biggest claims to fame is that it was the childhood home of Tippi Hedren, the star of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds In Hedron's book Cats of Shambala, she wrote that she was born in New Ulm, as Lafayette didn't have a hospital.