System.IO.FileNotFoundException for MetadataDefinitions.xml-Collection of common programming errors

When a user requests a page that calls on the CS2009 API they receive the following exception:
System.IO.FileNotFoundException for MetadataDefinitions.xml

The cause of this is related to the relative path of the page being requested not matching the relative path of the MetadataDefinitions.xml file.  The exception occurs only when the request is the first made for the application.

How must the CommerceRequestContext be configured such that the metadatadefinitions.xml file can exist at the root of the site yet page requests that are not at the root still function properly?

Is it mandatory that users are forced to a request at the root when the application starts for the first time or is there a workaround for this?

See exception below:An exception of type ‘System.IO.FileNotFoundException’ occurred and was caught.——————————————————————————-08/24/2009 09:27:58

Type : System.IO.FileNotFoundException, mscorlib, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089