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.
Sagaponack is a village in the town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The village incorporated on September 2, 2005, in the wake of the failed attempt by Dunehampton, New York to incorporate. Dunehampton's incorporation would have blocked Sagaponack from Atlantic Ocean beaches. The villages are seeking to address various beach issues including erosion arising from groynes at Georgica Pond in East Hampton village. Sagaponack, prior to its incorporation, was a census-designated place. The census 2000 population of Sagaponack CDP was 582. The Sagaponack ZIP Code (11962), was listed as the most expensive small town in the United States in 2009; the median home sale price $4,421,458, according to Zillow. com. Nearby Watermill, New York (11976) was #6 with $2,238,676, and Bridgehampton, New York (11932) was listed as #8 with $2,081,717. The name Sagaponack comes from the Shinnecock Indian Nation for "land of the big ground nuts. " The big ground nuts were actually potatoes. Potato farming continued until late in the 20th century and many of the huge estates in the village were built on potato fields. Its first settler was Josiah Stanborough in 1656. The village was originally called Sagg. Sag Harbor, just north of Sagaponack, is believed to have derived its name from the village. Another village further west was called Mecox. A village that formed a "bridge" between the two was called Bridgehampton, New York.