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.
The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is 35 miles south of Plattsburgh and 93 miles south of Montreal. Westport is inside the Adirondack Park. Westport is the birthplace of the Adirondack chair. The Essex County Fair is held in the town. The fairgrounds was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.