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.
Saluda is an unincorporated community in the county seat of Middlesex County, Virginia, United States. The Middlesex County courthouse was built in 1850-1874 by architects William R. Jones and John P. Hill, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A new courthouse complex was built in 2003-2004, but its opening was stalled due to various construction problems, leading to a legal dispute between the County board and the contractor. It was eventually opened in 2007. The highly decorated Marine, veteran of the Banana Wars, World War II and the Korean War, Chesty Puller died in Saluda in 1971.