Most states have consumer protection laws that authorize lawsuits against retailers who represent their products as having characteristics that the products actually do not have. Lawsuits alleging such misrepresentations can usually be pursued against retailers either by individual product purchasers or by nongovernmental public interest groups. A recent case from the District of Columbia reviewed allegations of unfair business practices against two retailers based on their placement of homeopathic remedies near the pharmacy area of their businesses.