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.
Berea is a city in Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 18,970 at the 2000 census. Berea is home to Baldwin-Wallace College and the training facility for the Cleveland Browns. Berea proclaims itself "The Grindstone Capital of the World". The town's symbol is a grindstone, a tribute to the many grindstones that came out of its quarries. Before concrete came into wide use, Berea dimension stone was an important construction material and huge amounts of it came from Berea. Several lakes in the area are former quarry pits that have been allowed to fill with water. John Baldwin named the city after the biblical Berea, and was only granted the naming rights after a coin flip. The town was founded in 1836. Berea High School was the first high school, founded in 1882, and Berea is also home to the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Berea public schools are part of the Berea City School District, which also contains schools in Brook Park and Middleburg Heights. Berea will construct Grindstone Elementary in 2011–2012 following the demolition of Fairwood Elementary.