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.
Meyersdale is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on the Casselman River, 73 miles (111 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. In the past, its chief industry was the mining of coal. Meyersdale was first settled as early as 1776, but the growth of the town dates from the advent of the first railroad in 1871. Coal mining began in the next year. In 1900, 3,024 people resided here, and in 1910, 3,741 people resided here. The population was 2,473 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. Meyersdale is widely known as a sports town. The small community has little to bond over since the slow decline of the coal industry, other than sports. The Meyersdale “Red Raiders” have appeared on the state radar in numerous sports: Girls Volleyball, Football, Girls Basketball, Wrestling, Baseball and Track & Field. The first state champions from Meyersdale Area High School were two brothers; David and Michael Warnick. David (class of 1988) won two individual PIAA state titles in 1987 and 1988. Michael (class of 1989) won the 1989 PIAA state title held in Hershey, PA..