/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/030630.mbx               C L A S S   A C T I O N   R E P O R T E R
  
               Monday, June 30, 2003, Vol. 5, No. 127

                            Headlines                            

AGWAY INC.: Investors Sue Execs Over Undisclosed Shaky Finances
AIR LINE PILOTS: NY Court Allows Comair Pilots Suit To Proceed
ANTHONY BLISSETT: SEC Settles Proceedings Over Securities Fraud
CALIFORNIA: Iraq War Protestors File Rights Suit V. Oakland City
CREE INC.: Asks NC Court to Dismiss $3.2B Securities Fraud Suit

CREE INC.: Eric Hunter Denies Allegations of Mental Instability
CYPRESS GARDENS: Employees Launch Suit For Unpaid Leaves, Wages
DBS COLLECTION: Consumers Sue Over Debt Collection Practices
DIGITAL LAVA: SEC Launches Securities Fraud Complaint V. Ex-VP
eCHAPMAN.COM: SEC Lodges Securities Fraud Complaint in MD Court

EL PASO: Reaches $1.7B Pact For Western US Power Crisis Lawsuits
ENRON CORPORATION: Labor Dept To Sue Over Fiduciary Violations
ENRON CORPORATION: Former Employees Laud Labor Pension Fund Suit
FORD MOTOR: Judge Allows Suit Over Crown Victoria To Proceed
FOREST SERVICE: Female Workers Seeks Contempt Order V. Secretary

INFORMATION BROKERS: Face Suits Over FL Motorist's Information
LOUISIANA: Judge Awards $91.9M To Plaintiffs in LA Flood Lawsuit
NEW JERSEY: Forming Child Welfare Panel Key Part Of Settlement
NISSAN MOTOR: Race Bias Agreement Signals End To Unfair Lending
PIPER JAFFRAY: NY Court Refuses To Dismiss Securities Fraud Suit

PIPER JAFFRAY: Asks Court To Dismiss Antitrust Violations Suit
SECURITIES LITIGATION: Firms Reach $1B Settlement in NY Lawsuit
THREE POINT: Settles Cease-and-Desist Proceedings Against Ex-VP
TOBACCO LITIGATION: CA Court Asks Lower Court To Examine Damages
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Works On New Undergrad Admissions Policy

*Companies Weigh in On University of Michigan Affirmative Action

                   New Securities Fraud Cases

CRYO-CELL INTERNATIONAL: Lockridge Grindal Files FL Stock Suit
INTERMUNE INC.: Goodkind Labaton Lodges Securities Lawsuit in CA
LABORATORY CORPORATION: Milberg Weiss Lodges Stock Lawsuit in NC
PRINTCAFE SOFTWARE: Fruchter & Twersky Files Stock Lawsuit in PA

                          *********


AGWAY INC.: Investors Sue Execs Over Undisclosed Shaky Finances
---------------------------------------------------------------
Eight Agway, Inc. investors filed a class action against two of
the cooperative's executives and its auditors, in state Supreme
Court in Onondaga County, New York, claiming the executives and
the auditors failed to disclose critical information about
Agway's financial distress, The Post Standard/Herald Journal
reports.  

The plaintiffs had purchased subordinated money market
certificates from the Company between September 21, 2000, and
September 30, 2002, the class period.  If the lawsuit is granted
class-action status, the plaintiffs would include the hundreds
of money-market certificate holders who are unsecured creditors
in Agway's bankruptcy case, said plaintiffs' attorney Robert I.
Harwood of Wechsler Harwood LLP of New York City.

The complaint names as defendants Donald Cardarelli, former
Agway chief executive officer, Peter J. O'Neill, Agway's chief
financial officer and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  Agway cannot
be sued while it is under the bankruptcy protection of Chapter
11 so the lawsuit seeks damages from the two individuals and the
accounting firm, instead.

Plaintiffs named in the case among others, are Barbara E. Pew,
John Pew Jr., and Harold and Donna Pew.  Barbara E. Pew is
listed in the complaint as the largest investor, having
purchased certificates worth $506,000 on November 1, 2000.

The lawsuit says the three defendants are responsible under the
Securities Act for filing "false and misleading" registration
statements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
pertaining to Agway's fiscal health.  Investors who bought
money-market certificates would not have done so if the
cooperative had properly disclosed its financial difficulties,
said plaintiffs' lawyer Wechsler Harwood.

"We think their financial records were not properly disclosed
and the true state of affairs was covered up," Mr. Harwood said.  
"Had they been told the truth, these investors could have
rethought their investment strategy and altered it accordingly."

The lawsuit alleges that PricewaterhouseCooper's audit report
issuing "clean opinions" for Agway in fiscal 2000 and 2001 were
misleading because they failed to disclose "substantial doubt"
as to whether Agway could continue as a "going concern."

During the critical period, Agway was regularly violating loan
covenants contained in its credit agreement, and had made
continuing efforts to restructure its debt, among other red
flags, the court papers allege.  Therefore, the lawsuit claims,
the auditors' opinions on financial statements sent out to the
investing public did not fairly present Agway's financial
position according to general accepted accounting principles.

Agway is in the midst of preparing its reorganization plan, as
required under Chapter 11, which is due to be filed by September
27.  


AIR LINE PILOTS: NY Court Allows Comair Pilots Suit To Proceed
--------------------------------------------------------------
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New
York allowed a lawsuit filed by a group of Comair pilots against
the union that represents them, the Air Line Pilots Association
(ALPA), to proceed, ATWOnline reports.  

Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, whose pilots also are
represented by ALPA.  The suit alleges that ALPA failed to
represent them fairly.  ALPA allegedly maintains a separate
level of representation for the mainline pilots.

Judge I. Leo Glasser's decision allowing the suit to proceed is
the first time a a federal court has recognized that ALPA has a
potential conflict of interest in representing pilots at
mainline and Regional carriers, according to the RJ Defense
Coalition that represents the Regional's pilots in the suit.

"Plaintiffs have sufficiently stated a claim that ALPA breached
its duty of fair representation by allegedly negotiating
contracts that arbitrarily favor the Delta pilots over the
Comair pilots," the judge ruled.  He also permitted an
additional 300 Comair pilots to join the lawsuit but suggested
the case be converted to a class action.

"I can't address the specifics other than to say that we are
confident that ultimately the facts will show that their suit is
without merit," ALPA national spokesperson John Mazor told
ATWOnline.  Pilots at Atlantic Southeast Airlines, another Delta
subsidiary, filed a similar lawsuit against the union last
month.


ANTHONY BLISSETT: SEC Settles Proceedings Over Securities Fraud
---------------------------------------------------------------
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission instituted
and simultaneously settled administrative proceedings against
Anthony W. Blissett that bar him from association with any
investment adviser.  

According to the order instituting administrative proceedings
pursuant to Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of
1940, making findings, and imposing remedial sanctions (Order),
the Commission filed a complaint in December 2002 in the US
District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Mr.
Blissett and a company he controlled seeking injunctive and
other relief.  

The complaint alleged that Mr. Blissett fraudulently raised more
than $31 million from several thousand investors by selling them
securities that falsely guaranteed tax-free, 30% annual returns
on investments of $10,000 or more.  

The Commission's Order finds that on March 14, 2003, the court
entered a final judgment of permanent injunction by consent
against Mr. Blissett, permanently enjoining him from future
violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities
Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2)
of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, in the aforementioned
civil action.  


CALIFORNIA: Iraq War Protestors File Rights Suit V. Oakland City
----------------------------------------------------------------
The City of Oakland, California faces a class action filed by 40
on behalf of protesters who were injured while participating in
a demonstration against the war on Iraq at the Port of Oakland
on April 7, the Berkeley Daily Californian reports.  

Oakland police allegedly fired non-lethal weapons at a crowd of
several hundred.  Forty protesters were injured, although the
protesters said the attack was unprovoked.  Also joining the
suit are nine longshoremen who were injured while reporting for
work that day.  Police ignored protesters' rights to free speech
and peaceful assembly through use of excessive force during the
protest, civil rights attorneys said at a press conference
yesterday morning.

"We would like to make sure that no one ever goes to a
demonstration of any kind-right or left wing-and has to face
what our clients faced," said attorney Jim Chanin. "We're
looking for an order that basically backs that up with some
teeth."

It is uncertain how long the lawsuit will take, Mr. Chanin said.  
The protesters are also suing for damages-medical bills, lost
wages and emotional distress.  The dollar amount will be
determined by a jury, Mr. Chanin continued, according to the
Berkeley California.

Police have maintained, however, that the protesters threw rocks
and refused to disperse.  The City of Oakland recently
established a third-party panel to investigate the incident,
Karen Boyd, spokesperson for the Oakland City Attorney's office,
told the Californian.  The panel meets for the first time on
Monday and will give their report in September.

The actions of the police at the port protest reflect a larger
problem within the Oakland Police Department that needs to be
addressed, plaintiffs' attorneys told the Californian.  "The
efforts to reform the Oakland Police Department with the Riders
case was just the beginning and this provides another
opportunity to enhance the quality of policing in this city,"
said civil rights attorney John Burris, who worked on the recent
Rider's case, in a statement.


CREE INC.: Asks NC Court to Dismiss $3.2B Securities Fraud Suit
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cree, Inc. asked the United States District Court in Greensboro,
North Carolina to dismiss the $3.2 billion securities class
action brought by co-founder Eric Hunter, the company's first
formal response to the case, Raleigh News reports.

Mr. Hunter and his wife, Jocelyn filed the suit alleging that
the Company and Neal Hunter, his brother, engaged in malfeasance
to artificially inflate income and share price so top officials
could benefit since August 1995.  

The Company allegedly also entered into a secret agreement with
Charles & Colvard, a Morrisville gemstone company Eric Hunter
started, forcing it to buy excess raw material from the Company
to boost operating income at the semiconductor company by about
40 percent.

The suit further alleges that the Company filed misleading
statements with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission in January 2000.  The Company also unnecessarily paid
Charles & Colvard $5 million for equipment so the gemstone
company could continue to pay for raw material provided by Cree.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the Company's stock had fallen 21
percent and several securities class actions have been filed.  
The Company said that the suit lacks factual support, and its
sole purpose is to hurt the company and members of the Hunter
family.

"Plaintiffs are succeeding in that goal," the Company said in
the filing with the U.S. District Court in Greensboro.  The
"vague allegations of wrongdoing have had a devastating effect
on Cree shareholders."

"The motion to dismiss is the first of many steps we plan to
take to defend Cree and protect our shareholders' interests,"
Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda said in a statement.  Reached by phone,
he declined to comment further, the Raleigh News states.

"The information you're dealing with is less than 5 percent of
what we have," Eric Hunter said in a telephone interview with
Raleigh News from an undisclosed overseas location earlier this
week.  "We want to go to court."

Mike Unti, the attorney representing Eric and Jocelyn Hunter,
didn't return phone calls seeking comment on Cree's request,
Raleigh News reports.  Eric Hunter has also charged that his
brother and Company executives were following him around and
threatening him to keep quiet.  He says he had to hire a
bodyguard during a recent trip to London for protection.  Eric
Hunter also says that family members have verbally and
physically assaulted him, and his mother even tried to have him
put into a mental institution.

Neal Hunter and other relatives have filed papers saying that
Hunter is mentally ill.  They described episodes when he
allegedly said his family was tied to the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy and threats made to former Vice
President Al Gore.

The Company told the Raleigh News the whole matter boils down to
a family dispute and shouldn't involve the company.  "The airing
of personal family grievances in the guise of securities fraud
and harassment claims against a public company is an improper
use of the judicial system," it said in the filings.


CREE INC.: Eric Hunter Denies Allegations of Mental Instability
---------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Hunter, founder and former CEO of Cree, Inc., issued a
statement denying allegations made by his family about his
mental status and detailing his allegations against the Company.

In the statement, he said, "This is not a story about a family
feud, but a story about alleged stock fraud at Cree, Inc.,
insider trading, and a cover-up that will likely lead to a
restatement of financial results for at least the last 4-1/2
years . Why has Cree worked so hard to intimidate and attempt to
discredit my wife and me?"

Mr. Hunter accuses the Company of shifting funds from affiliated
companies to significantly increase profits.  He stated that
Cree obtained non-affiliate status as an investor in C3's
(Nasdaq: CTHR) initial public offering in November, 1997.

Since the Company was the only supplier of moissanite crystals
to C3 and had better visibility than C3 itself on most material
financial issues, C3 was by any legal definition an affiliate of
Cree (not to mention the fact that both companies' CEOs were
brothers).  Mr. Hunter accuses Cree of using a portion of the
funds obtained from C3 to produce crystals unusable to C3 (4H
polytype crystalline structure) but utilized instead by Cree to
complete a Department of Defense contract, funds for which had
already been exhausted before completion of the contract.

In Mr. Hunter's opinion, false statements and material omissions
were made in Cree's January 3, 2000 S-3 filed with the SEC.  In
May 2000, just 3-1/2 months after Cree's $300 million January
2000 secondary offering, Cree purchased $5 million worth of
equipment from C3, already beneficially owned by Cree to provide
funds to C3 to continue to purchase moissanite crystals from
Cree, Inc. through December 2000.

"Part of the cover-up has included and continues to include a
massive effort to intimidate and discredit me.  These efforts
involve many people but were and continue to be primarily
orchestrated by my brothers, Neal and Jeff Hunter, and a cousin,
Ollin Sykes.  Sykes was a director of C3 and is currently a
director of World Theater, Inc . The scope of Cree's financial
impropriety is broad and includes involvement with other
affiliated companies, insider trading by executives, and other
activities, as well as attempts to mislead state and federal
authorities to cover up and obstruct justice," Mr. Hunter said.

In addition, Mr. Hunter unequivocally denied statements
published on Tuesday in the News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., by
Cree's Chairman, claiming or suggesting that he is undergoing
psychiatric treatment, has been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs,
or taken anti-psychotic drugs.  In addition, none of the
physicians treating Eric Hunter have ever suggested that he
suffers from a psychosis or have prescribed medication for such
a disease.  Eric and Jocelyn Hunter, because of their business
and personal interests in the Triangle, and founding of four
companies there, consider that Cree's current harassment by the
company's Chairman has caused them significant damages, the
statement continued.

The issues at stake in a lawsuit filed by Eric Hunter and his
wife, Jocelyn, against Cree and Neal Hunter primarily concern
corporate misconduct spanning a number of years, and were
prompted by Cree's efforts, and the efforts of Neal Hunter and
others in the Hunter family, to prevent Eric Hunter from
reporting the misconduct at Cree to the Securities and Exchange
Commission and other authorities, the statement asserted.  

Many members of the Hunter family hold Cree stock, are current
employees or consultants of Cree, former directors of Cree, or
are otherwise financially interested in the outcome of the
litigation.  In court filings, Eric Hunter and his wife have
sought the protection of the "whistle-blower" provisions of the
new Sarbanes-Oxley Act to stop harassment and intimidation from
Cree and members of the Hunter family who are siding with Neal
and a third brother, Jeff Hunter.

"With the new legislation passed by Congress this year,
including the Sarbanes/Oxley Act and mandatory sentencing
guidelines for persons convicted of financial crimes, Cree's
executives and other people involved in this cover-up are for
good reason scared.  We look forward to going to court," Mr.
Hunter stated.


CYPRESS GARDENS: Employees Launch Suit For Unpaid Leaves, Wages
---------------------------------------------------------------
Former Cypress Gardens employees filed two class actions in
Florida federal and state courts, for laying off more than 500
employees, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.  

The owners of the 67-year old Winter Haven attraction allegedly
laid off the employees and did not pay them for vacation and
sick days that they were owed.  The federal suit claims that
owners violated a federal law that requires a 60-day advance
notice to employees before closing a business.

The attraction 35 miles southwest of Orlando, Florida closed
April 13, citing low attendance since the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, which caused a drop in tourism nationwide.

Phone messages left Thursday with principal owner Larry Maxwell
and chief operating officer Bill Reynolds were not immediately
returned, the Sun-Sentinel states.  Earlier this month, a state
land acquisition panel urged Gov. Jeb Bush and Cabinet to buy
Cypress Gardens to save it from development, but there has been
no decision.


DBS COLLECTION: Consumers Sue Over Debt Collection Practices
------------------------------------------------------------
The DBS Collection Agency of Zanesville faces a class action
filed in the United States District Court in Columbus, Ohio by
its customers, the Ohio Times Recorder reports.  Graham,
McClelland & Ransbottom is representing the class, which could
include more than 500 plaintiffs by July 18.  The business'
principal legal counsel, Ward Coffman III, is also named as a
defendant.

The suit charges the Company with:

     (1) violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,

     (2) violations of Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act,

     (3) fraud,

     (4) violations of the Corrupt Practices Act including mail
         fraud, wire fraud, theft, extortion,

     (5) negligence, and

     (6) deprivation of property without due process

The complaint was originally filed in May 2001 and was granted
class status last year by Judge Algenon Marbley.  The suit was
filed on behalf of all parties who were defendants in similar
collections lawsuits brought by the Company between August 1998
and March 2001.

The suit was commenced after a Roseville couple, Ed and Carla
Foster, had their bank accounts frozen by the Company after they
were unable to pay off a debt, Bob Graham, co-counsel for the
class of plaintiffs, told the Times Recorder.

Kathy Dickerson of DBS filed a small claims action against the
Fosters in Zanesville Municipal Court, but the Fosters attempted
to work out a payment plan.  Mr. Graham told the Recorder Ed
Foster found Ms. Dickerson to be "mean, spiteful, and only
interested in being paid and paid in full."

Nonetheless, Ms. Dickerson verbally agreed to the payment plan,
with the understanding she would drop the complaint against the
Fosters, according to Graham.  Ed Foster then made a $500
payment.  A bad winter meant little work for Mr. Foster, a truck
driver, and his income slowed.  Ms. Dickerson never dismissed
the claim.

"She never dismisses claims and simply leaves cases pending for
additional leverage," Graham explained.

Ms. Dickerson could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, the
Times Recorder states.


DIGITAL LAVA: SEC Launches Securities Fraud Complaint V. Ex-VP
--------------------------------------------------------------
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced
today that it filed a complaint against Peter J. Webb, 50, of
Southlake, Texas, the former Vice President of Sales for Digital
Lava, Inc., for inflating revenues for Digital Lava's fiscal
quarter ended September 30, 2000, (Q3 2000).  

According to the Commission's complaint, filed in the United
States District Court in Los Angeles, California, Mr. Webb
engaged in fraudulent sales practices to increase Digital Lava's
revenue by 54% during Q3 2000, which resulted in Digital Lava
reporting false financial information in its Form 10-Q for that
quarter.  

On March 21, 2001, Digital Lava restated its Q3 2000 revenues
from $1.7 million to  $1.1 million.  Simultaneous with the
filing of the complaint, Mr. Webb settled the action.  He
consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the
complaint, to the entry of a final judgment permanently
enjoining him from future violations of the charged provisions.

The Commission's complaint alleges that during Q3 2000, Mr. Webb
entered into several transactions with Digital Lava's dealers
that involved placing contingencies, some documented in side
letters, on the sale of a new product called Firestream.  Mr.
Webb concealed the contingencies from Digital Lava's management
and its auditors, which caused Digital Lava to improperly
recognize revenue on these sales.  As a result, the Company
overstated revenue from its Firestream sales in Q3 2000 by
$598,000, or 54%.

The Commission charged Mr. Webb with violating or aiding and
abetting violations of provisions of the federal securities
laws, including the antifraud provisions (Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder),
reporting provisions (Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and
Rules 12b-20 and 13a-13 thereunder), record-keeping provisions  
(Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13b2-1
thereunder), internal controls provision (Sections 13(b)(5) of
the Exchange Act) and lying-to-an-accountant provision (Rule  
13b2-2 under the Exchange Act).


eCHAPMAN.COM: SEC Lodges Securities Fraud Complaint in MD Court
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed securities fraud
charges against Nathan A. Chapman, Jr., three of his companies
and three of his associates in connection with the June 2000
initial public offering of - and subsequent secondary market
trading in - the common stock of eChapman.com, Inc (now
eChapman, Inc., or ECMN).  The lawsuit, filed today in the
United States District Court in Baltimore, Maryland seeks:

     (1) antifraud injunctions,

     (2) civil money penalties,

     (3) disgorgement of ill-gotten gains (including salaries,
         bonuses and commissions) and

     (4) permanent bars from service as an officer or director
         of a public company

The Commission alleges that the fraudulent scheme involved
Chapman and officers of ECMN, a public company he controlled
that is the parent company of a registered broker-dealer, The
Chapman Company (TCC), and a registered investment adviser,
Chapman Capital Management, Inc. (CCM).  Both of those companies
are also controlled by Mr. Chapman.

Named as defendants in the Commission's complaint are:

     (i) Nathan A. Chapman, Jr., age 45, of Clarksville, Md.
         Chapman was ECMN's president, chairman of the board,
         and majority shareholder during the relevant period.  
         He was also the president, chairman of the board and
         chief compliance officer of both registered entities,
         TCC and CCM, as well as CCM's chief investment officer;
  
    (ii) eChapman, Inc. (ECMN) headquartered in Baltimore, Md.
         ECMN provides brokerage, investment advisory and
         insurance services. During the relevant period, its
         shares traded on the NASDAQ National Market.  They
         currently trade on the over-the-counter bulletin board.
         ECMN is the parent company of defendants TCC and CCM;
  
   (iii) The Chapman Company (TCC) is a broker-dealer registered
         with the Commission;
  
    (iv) Chapman Capital Management, Inc. (CCM) is an investment
         adviser registered with the Commission;
  
     (v) Earl U. Bravo, Sr., age 55, of Baltimore, Md.  Mr.
         Bravo was the senior vice president, secretary,
         assistant treasurer and member of the board of ECMN
         during the relevant period.  He was also the chief
         operating officer, senior vice president, secretary and
         head of equity trading at TCC, as well as the secretary
         and assistant treasurer of CCM;
  
    (vi) Demetris B. Brown, age 47, of Woodstock, Md.  Mr. Brown
         was the chief financial officer, treasurer and
         assistant secretary of ECMN, TCC and CCM during the
         relevant period.  He is a Certified Public Accountant;
  
   (vii) Daniel Baldwin, Jr., age 46, of Randallstown, Md.
         Mr. Baldwin was senior vice president for institutional
         sales at TCC and a registered representative during the
         relevant period

The Commission's complaint alleges that, in an effort to rescue
a failing IPO, the individual defendants engaged in fraudulent
conduct, including:

     (a) backdating trades and placing close to one-third of the
         IPO shares into the account of an advisory client;

     (b) unauthorized sales of ECMN stock to TCC brokerage
         customers;

     (c) manipulating the market for ECMN stock for months
         following the IPO; and

     (d) filing false and misleading reports with the
         Commission

As a result of the fraudulent conduct investors, including the
Maryland state retirement and pension system, lost millions of
dollars.

"Investment advisers and brokers, who manage investments or buy
and sell securities for others, must put their clients'
interests above their own," said Arthur S. Gabinet, District
Administrator of the SEC's Philadelphia District Office.  "The
charges against Mr. Chapman and his colleagues reflect their
failure to meet the high standard the law requires and investors
have a right to expect.  They abused their power over their
clients' money to spare Mr. Chapman the consequences of his
obviously failing IPO.  Today's action demonstrates the
Commission's continuing commitment to protect investors."

The Commission's complaint alleges that in late 1999, Mr.
Chapman decided to create a new public company that would take
advantage of the growing influence of the Internet and provide a
broad array of online financial services.  The new company,
ECMN, was to be formed by merging two existing public companies,
and the IPO was structured so that Mr. Chapman would own
approximately 63 percent of ECMN.  However, in March 2000, the
NASDAQ Composite reached its all-time high and began a steady
decline.  Mr. Chapman had difficulty attracting investors and
marketing an unproven dot-com company in the face of the falling
stock market.

The Commission's complaint further alleges that following the
IPO on June 15, 2000, trading in ECMN opened significantly below
its $13 per share offering price and never recovered. Mr.
Chapman, together with Mr. Bravo, used his control over TCC and
CCM to have CCM improperly place 395,000 shares - almost one-
third of the IPO - with CCM's advisory client, a trust, using
the trust's sub-advisers, one of which was an investment adviser
owned by Alan B. Bond, currently a convicted felon.  

Of these shares, 175,000 were sold a week after ECMN began
trading, when it was trading at $7.  Mr. Chapman and Mr. Bravo
illegally backdated the sale to the IPO date, at $13 per share -
resulting in an instant loss of over $1 million to the trust and
its investors.

The complaint further alleges that, in addition to the
transactions at CCM, Mr. Baldwin, with Mr. Bravo's knowledge,
made unauthorized trades and placed ECMN IPO shares in at least
37 customer accounts at TCC.  The customers on whom Mr. Baldwin
preyed included the elderly, or individuals who had specifically
requested low-risk investments.  Many knew nothing about
investing or the stock market and relied on Mr. Baldwin to make
their investment decisions.

Finally, the complaint alleges that Mr. Chapman and Mr. Bravo,
through TCC, manipulated the market for ECMN by using IPO
proceeds to buy hundreds of thousands of ECMN shares in the
months following the offering.  As a result, ECMN was left
without funds to implement the business strategies that ECMN had
represented to investors were the reasons for the IPO.

In further efforts to prop up the price of ECMN stock, Mr.
Chapman, Mr. Bravo and others discouraged advisory clients and
brokerage customers from selling their ECMN stock.  The
defendants thereafter concealed their fraud with false and
misleading statements regarding the use of the IPO proceeds in
quarterly and annual reports filed with the Commission, prepared
and signed by Mr. Chapman and Mr. Brown.

The Commission brought this action in coordination with the
United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, who today
filed related criminal charges against Chapman, and the Maryland
Division of Securities, which today filed civil charges against
all of the defendants in the Commission's action.

For further information, contact Merri Jo Gillette, Associate
District Administrator or David S. Horowitz, Assistant District
Administrator, Philadelphia District Office by Phone:
(215) 597-3100


EL PASO: Reaches $1.7B Pact For Western US Power Crisis Lawsuits
----------------------------------------------------------------
The nation's biggest gas pipeline operator El Paso Corporation
announced that it had reached settlements for most of the
litigation charging it with manipulating western US power and
gas markets during the 2000-2001 power crisis, Fox News reports/

A $1.7 billion settlement is waiting for the California Superior
Court in San Diego's approval.  A decision is expected late this
year or in early 2004.  The Company said the cost of the
settlement could grow incrementally because of certain changes
since the deal's initial announcement in March.  The Company
admitted no wrongdoing in the pact, which will include
settlements with private class action plaintiffs in:

     (1) California,

     (2) Washington,

     (3) Oregon,

     (4) Nevada,

     (5) California's two major utilities,

     (6) five California municipalities and

     (7) six private non-class plaintiffs

Under the agreement, the Company agreed to pay $78.6 million in
cash immediately, make a $250 million escrow payment, and issue
26.4 million shares with the proceeds to be distributed to the
parties, Fox News reports.  The Houston Company will also make
$45 million annual payments over the next 20 years.

The annual payment is a change from the original agreement, when
El Paso said it would give California $45 million a year in
natural gas deliveries.  So too is the $250 million escrow
payment, which is to retire an obligation to pay $22 million a
year over 20 years.


ENRON CORPORATION: Labor Dept To Sue Over Fiduciary Violations
--------------------------------------------------------------
The United States Labor Department is filing suit against Enron
Corporation and about 20 of its officers, alleging they violated
their fiduciary duties by taking actions that caused company
workers to lose hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the
company's retirement-savings plan, The Wall Street Journal
reports.  The agency has been investigating since late 2001,
whether trustees of the company's 401(k) plan, top executives
all, purposely allowed employees to buy overpriced company stock
based on misleading financial statements.

Class actions brought by groups of Enron employees can only
benefit from the evidentiary material brought forth by the Labor
Department in its filed court documents and in the course of the
discovery process.  Retirement plans of states, for examples,
which bought into Enron stock and which have joined together to
bring class actions against Enron's management of its retirement
plan can similarly benefit.

Enron stock comprised as much as 61 percent of the participating
employees' 401(k) portfolios, stock that lost more than $1
billion in value after Enron's peculiar and almost unfathomable
accounting practices became known, causing the company to fall
toward bankruptcy.  A separate private class action on behalf of
employees, alleging breach of fiduciary duty is seeking recovery
of losses.

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the
Labor Department can attempt to recover lost retirement funds.  
It is unclear how successful the lawsuit will be in reclaiming
the losses, since the company is operating under bankruptcy
proceedings and is the subject of numerous court actions.

A government official familiar with the suit said, however, that
the Enron bankruptcy filing would not necessarily foreclose the
government from recovering some funds.  "It is still a company
and still has assets," the official said.  "And the individual
defendants also have assets."

Last year, the financial collapses at Enron and WorldCom Inc.
caused the House and Senate to take action.  Hearings were held
in which Enron executives were subpoenaed to testify about the
company's collapse.  These actions led to passage of the Pension
Security Act, a pension-protection measure, and a corporate
accountability law, both with bipartisan support.


ENRON CORPORATION: Former Employees Laud Labor Pension Fund Suit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Enron Corporation's former employees welcomed the action filed
by the United States Department of Labor against the energy
giant, saying the action was better late than never, the Houston
Chronicle reports.

The employees have already filed separate lawsuits against the
Company and its former officers for the devastating losses in
company retirement plans, after the Company collapsed 18 months
ago.  Lawyers for the former employees in a class action said
having a government agency endorse many of the same legal
theories will only bolster their case.

"We think that it's helpful the Labor Department is asserting
many of the same claims we are," lawyer Robin Harrison, who is
trying to get the suit certified as a class action, told the
Chronicle.

The Labor suit alleges that former Enron Chairman Ken Lay and
former CEO Jeff Skilling issued misleading statements to
employees about the Company's stock value and did not properly
monitor the committee appointed to manage Enron's retirement
plans.  The Labor suit also charges the Company's administrative
committee for breach of fiduciary duty after it imprudently
investing two-thirds of plan assets in Enron stock and not
heeding warning signs as the value plummeted.  Finally, the
lawsuit says Enron's board of directors failed to appoint a
trustee independent of Enron to manage the retirement plans.

"We're delighted that the department has endorsed our suit with
their own and look forward to their assistance in helping to
recover as much as we can for the Enron workers," Eli
Gottesdiener, another plaintiffs' lawyer, told the Chronicle.

The suit focuses on the Company's 401(k) plan, which held $2.1
billion worth of Enron stock in early 2001.  The stock's value
plummeted to $10 million a year later.  The pension fund had
more than 20,000 members, and an employee stock ownership plan
hand more than 7,600 members.

"Mr. Lay went so far as to tout Enron stock as a good investment
for employees even after he had information on the accounting
scandals," said Labor Secretary Elaine Chao at a news conference
Thursday, the Chronicle reports.


FORD MOTOR: Judge Allows Suit Over Crown Victoria To Proceed
------------------------------------------------------------
St. Clair County, Illinois, Judge Lloyd Cueto gave the go-ahead
to Illinois police departments wanting to sue the Ford Motor Co.
over the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor cars in a class
action alleging those police cars are unsafe, the Associated
Press Newswires reports.  Judge Cueto ruled the police
department is making a uniform accusation and therefore may sue
the company together in a class action.

Since 1983, 14 officers nationwide have died in crashes when
their Interceptors' gas tanks ignited after rear collisions.  
Missouri trooper Michael Newton burned to death May 22, on the
side of Interstate 70, when a pickup vehicle crashed into his
Interceptor.

The lawsuit seeks a court order forcing Ford to retrofit the
cars with safety equipment before a tragedy can occur, said
Trisha Murphy, plaintiffs' lawyer.  The lawsuit also is asking
for unspecified punitive damages.

"While our sympathy goes out to the officers' families, there is
no vehicle offered by any company anywhere in the world that is
designed to maintain fuel-system integrity in such accidents,"
said Ford in a statement issued recently, claiming the
Interceptors are safe.

Ford is defending itself against several similar lawsuits filed
in other states that have been combined into a single case in a
Cleveland federal court.  Ms. Murphy said that case has not yet
been certified a class action.


FOREST SERVICE: Female Workers Seeks Contempt Order V. Secretary
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thousands of female Forest Service employees in California asked
the United States District Court in Oakland to hold US
Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman in contempt of
court, for failing to remedy workplace hostilities, the
Associated Press reports.

A lawsuit was filed in 1995, alleging that women Forest Service
employees suffered harassment, especially after the agency was
ordered to hire more women in the early 1990s.  Since January
2002, the Forest Service has been under a court-approved
settlement, when officials pledged to establish a three-year
program to train employees and enforce women's rights in the
workplace.

"By the incidents that have been occurring in the last year and
a half of egregious sexual harassment, workplace violence and
reprisals, it's clear the agency has failed to prevent and
eliminate sexual harassment," Lesa Donnelly, a former Forest
Service employee and lead plaintiff in the case, told AP.

The Forest Service allegedly was not paying attention to sexual
harassment complaints and in some cases, retaliated against the
women complainants by denying them training and advancement
opportunities, Ms. Donnelly said.

Matt Mathes, a Forest Service spokesman, told AP the agency is
taking steps to improve working conditions.  "We realize that we
need to do better," Mr. Mathes said.

The agency also asserted that it is developing a procedure to
investigate allegations of sexual harassment and plans to
implement sensitivity training programs.  Although there have
been recent complaints of sexual harassment, Mr. Mathes told AP
the agency has not fired anyone for such conduct in the last six
months.

A hearing on the contempt order, which was filed earlier this
month by the current and former employees, is for scheduled July
18 in US District Court in Oakland.


INFORMATION BROKERS: Face Suits Over FL Motorist's Information
--------------------------------------------------------------
Information firms Choicepoint, Inc. and Reed Elsevier, Inc.,
parent company of LexisNexis, faces two class actions filed by a
West Palm Beach rabbi, alleging they have been obtaining some
information from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
vehicle records in violation of a federal privacy law, the South
Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Rabbi Joel Levine of Temple Judea said the firms revealed
information detailing people's names, addresses, birthdates and
other information detailed on motor-vehicle titles.  The suits
are part of a campaign challenging the state's handling of the
records, which opponents say violates the federal Driver Privacy
Protection Act.

The law states that drivers must give their consent before a
state can release the information.  However, the suits argue
that in Florida, drivers must "opt out" - telling the state that
they don't want the information released.

"If this litigation is successful, it will take the market
away," James Green, one of Levine's attorneys told the Sun-
Sentinel.  "These data miners will know that the cost of
obtaining information illegally is much higher than what the
market will bear."

Both ChoicePoint and LexisNexis released public statements on
Thursday, saying they are very protective of personal privacy,
the Sun-Sentinel reports.

"ChoicePoint believes the law is very clear in these matters and
that we have complied with both the spirit and letter of the
law," said Chuck Jones, ChoicePoint spokesman.  "We are prepared
to vigorously defend ourselves."

LexisNexis officials told the Sun-Sentinel they haven't seen
Levine's May 30 lawsuit against them.  "The company's leadership
in the information industry in protecting individual privacy has
been acknowledged by the Federal Trade Commission, many members
of Congress and LexisNexis customers," according to a corporate
news release.

   
LOUISIANA: Judge Awards $91.9M To Plaintiffs in LA Flood Lawsuit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Judge Wayne Ray Chutz of 21st Judicial District Court, has
awarded plaintiffs suing over the major 1983 flood in Tangipahoa
Parish, in Louisiana, which damaged their property, $91.9
million in damages, The Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

The plaintiffs maintained that the state Department of
Transportation and Development (DOTD) constricted natural
drainage in parts of Tangipahoa Parish, when it built Interstate
12.  Subsequently, said the plaintiffs, the April 1983 flood
damaged their property.  The plaintiffs number about 1,300
individuals and businesses, the lawyers said.

Attorney William Wilson, who represented the DOTD, the defendant
in the class action, said the department will appeal to the 1st
Circuit Court of Appeal.  The Louisiana Supreme Court already
has affirmed the state's liability in the class-action lawsuit
filed in 1984.

The $91.9 million award is prior to the addition of a sizable
amount of interest that has accumulated for nearly two decades,
plaintiffs' attorney Jean-Paul Layrisson said.  "We believe the
judgment is fair and a significant step . We just hope that one
day we can finally get some money for the flood victims," he
continued.

Meanwhile, judicial interest is running and is now more than 180
percent above the award, added Mr. Layrisson.

Judge Chutz's award was based upon the recommendation by Judge
Thomas Tanner, who acted as special master and heard evidence on
the merits of the case.  Judge Chutz said he agreed with the
recommendations of the special master, that he found Judge
Tanner's recommendations "legally sound and well supported by
the evidence."  Judge Chutz added that found objections to the
special master's recommendations to be "without merit."


NEW JERSEY: Forming Child Welfare Panel Key Part Of Settlement
--------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey's out-of-control child-welfare system got a new
overseer recently with the appointment of a panel of national
experts to guide the much-needed, long-ignored reform, The
Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Creation of the New Jersey Child Welfare Panel is the key
component of the recently announced settlement of a federal
class action filed in 1999, by Children's Rights Inc. over the
state's treatment of children in custody.

The settlement requires the panel to start meeting with state
officials within three weeks.  The state must produce a plan
within six months that addresses problems throughout the child-
welfare system.  If the panel rejects the plan, the case would
go back to the court, where a remedy would be offered.

The new panel will have power to directly oversee the Division
of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).  The panel will have wide-
ranging access to the staff of DYFS.  It can do more than make
recommendations; the panel can "require."

As part of the settlement, the state must immediately spend $22
million to hire and equip workers, as well as conduct safety
assessments of children in foster care.  It must also use the
money to buy supplies for the caseworkers and invest $1.5
million in foster-care parent recruitment.

Administration officials agreed to add $10.5 million to next
year's budget to use toward agreements hammered out in the
settlement.  The agency is already getting an additional $5.6
million for a new computerized tracking system.

The Children's Rights case picked up momentum after the death in
January of seven-year-old Faheem Williams, who had been the
subject of a neglect/abuse complaint that was closed, although
the boy had not been seen by a caseworker.

Over the past several months, the Children's Rights class action
has forced disclosure of thousands of pages of once-secret DYFS
files that detailed abuse and neglect, lax oversight and poor
communication between workers.

"For too long DYFS has been an agency the government ignored,"
said Governor McGreevey.


NISSAN MOTOR: Race Bias Agreement Signals End To Unfair Lending
---------------------------------------------------------------
Minority car buyers could begin to see the benefits of the
lawsuit settled earlier this year by Nissan Motor Co.'s
financing arm, The Wall Street Journal reports.  Consumer
advocates said the settlement of a class action, alleging
lending discrimination against Hispanic and African-American car
buyers by Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (NMAC), Nissan's
financing arm, is a big step forward toward ending unfair
industry lending practices.

The settlement was approved May 19, in federal court, in
Nashville, Tennessee, but parties just this week agreed on how
to implement it.  The settlement caps loan "markups" for new car
buyers at three percentage points and for used cars at two
points.  The markup is a charge added to the buyer's approved
interest rate, and profits for putting the loan together are
split between the car dealer and the lender.

Later this year, Nissan will offer pre-approved "no markup"
loans, based on good customer credit, to hundreds of thousands
of current and potential African-American and Hispanic Nissan
car owners.  Loan recipients will be informed of the specific
interest rate they are eligible for, based solely on their
credit-worthiness.  Customers will be told they can negotiate
auto financing just as they finance the purchase price of a car,
NMAC spokesman Kyle Bazemore.

The 1998 lawsuit against NMAC alleged car dealers were marking
up interest rates on loans made to minority buyers, charging
them more than white buyers with similar financial backgrounds.  
Plaintiffs' attorneys said markups across the industry were as
high as 10 percent, with minority buyers paying $500 more on a
car loan.


PIPER JAFFRAY: NY Court Refuses To Dismiss Securities Fraud Suit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Piper Jaffray Companies have been named, along with other
leading securities firms, as a defendant in many putative class
actions filed in 2001 and 2002 in the United States District
Court for the Southern District of New York involving the
allocation of securities in certain initial public offerings.

The Court's order, dated August 8, 2001, transferred all related
class action complaints for coordination and pretrial purposes
as In re Initial Public Offering Allocation Securities
Litigation, Master File No.21 MC 92 (SAS).  These complaints
assert claims pursuant to Section11 of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder based, in part, upon
allegations that:

     (1) between 1998 and 2000 the underwriters of certain
         initial public offerings of technology and Internet-
         related companies obtained excessive compensation by
         allocating shares in these initial public offerings to
         preferred customers who, in return, purportedly agreed
         to pay additional compensation to the underwriters who
         failed to disclose the additional compensation; and

     (2) the underwriters' customers who received favorable
         allocations of shares in initial public offerings
         agreed to purchase additional shares of the same issuer
         in the secondary market at pre-determined prices.

These complaints seek unspecified damages.  The defendants'
motions to dismiss the complaints were filed on July 1, 2002 and
oral argument on the motions to dismiss was heard on November
14, 2002.  The court later largely denied the motions to
dismiss.  Discovery has commenced pursuant to an agreement
between the parties and it is anticipated that a formal
scheduling order will be entered by the court in the future.


PIPER JAFFRAY: Asks Court To Dismiss Antitrust Violations Suit
--------------------------------------------------------------
Piper Jaffray Companies asked the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York to dismiss the
consolidated class action asserting substantially similar
antitrust claims based upon allegations that 7 percent
underwriters' discounts violate the Sherman Act.  These
complaints also seek treble damages and injunctive relief.

The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the suit, but the court
denied defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint on September
30, 2002.  Defendants filed a motion to certify the order for
interlocutory appeal on October 15, 2002.  The defendants also
filed a motion to dismiss based upon implied immunity was also
filed in connection with this action.  Plaintiffs have filed
their opposition to the motion to dismiss and limited discovery
is proceeding at this time.


SECURITIES LITIGATION: Firms Reach $1B Settlement in NY Lawsuit
---------------------------------------------------------------
A major step was taken in the huge securities fraud litigation
against more than 300 public companies in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York, as the
companies reached a $1 billion settlement with investors over
charges of fraudulent stock prices during the late 1990s
Internet bull market, Reuters reports.

The settlement is touted to be the largest payout stemming from
investment fraud charges against Wall Street's conduct in the
1990s stock market bubble.  Investors are expected to get about
$400 million from investment banks' $1.4 billion settlement with
regulators over charges of biased research.

Several thousand investors filed class actions against the firms
alleging that they engaged in securities fraud.  The suits
further alleged that:

     (1) Wall Street banks manipulated the market with
         optimistic research;

     (2) the said investment firms ramped up trading commissions
         in exchange for access to IPO shares; and

     (3) that investors who were allocated IPO shares were
         required to buy shares in the after-market to help push
         up the share price.

A year and a half ago, the defendants in the litigation
attempted to enter into private talkes mediated by former
federal judge Nicholas Politan.  Some firms' officers and
directors were dismissed due to a tolling agreement.  In
February this year, Judge Shira Scheindlin, who is presiding
over the case, rejected efforts by the banks and issuing
companies to dismiss the suits.

The settlement, which ranks as the largest payout stemming from
charges against Wall Street's conduct during the boom, would be
paid by insurers that include American International Group Inc.,
Chubb Corp., Zurich Financial Services, a person familiar with
the settlement told Reuters.  The settlement must be approved by
the companies' boards and a federal judge.

However, affected investors should not expect to receive any
money soon as payouts would not begin until a separate case is
concluded between investors and the 55 investment banks that
underwrote these initial public offerings, according to
plaintiffs' lawyers.  If the settlement or award with the
investment banks exceeds $1 billion, the issuers' insurers would
not have to pay out money to investors, Reuters states.  If the
banks win their case or their payout falls below $1 billion, the
issuing companies and their insurers would have to make up the
difference.

"It's always been the case that the primary target is the
underwriters," Melvyn Weiss, a founding partner at law firm
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP and chairman of the
plaintiffs' committee, told Reuters.  "This gives us a booster
shot in our case against them."

The settlement is expected to strengthen a parallel suit against
underwriting banks that seeks about $5 billion in damages.  The
plaintiffs are expected to include Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch
& Co. and Goldman Sachs Group as defendants.

Both AIG and Chubb have already paid out hundreds of millions of
dollars in the past few years insuring executives embroiled in
corporate scandals.

"We have substantial reinsurance and whatever net exposure we
might have, we believe we are fully reserved for," an AIG
spokesman told Reuters.  Chubb did not immediately return a call
seeking comment


THREE POINT: Settles Cease-and-Desist Proceedings Against Ex-VP
---------------------------------------------------------------
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission instituted
and simultaneously settled public cease-and-desist proceedings
against Robert C. Cloyd, a former Vice-President of Three Point
Digital, Inc.  The Commission found that Mr. Cloyd fraudulently
misled the auditors of Digital Lava, Inc. about the terms of a
transaction between Three Point Digital and Digital Lava.   

The Commission's Order found that Three Point Digital was the
integrator and largest distributor of Digital Lava's Firestream
system.  In September 2000, Three Point Digital purchased
approximately $319,000 in Firestream systems from Digital Lava.  
The Commission further found that Digital Lava's Vice President
of Sales gave Mr. Cloyd a side letter providing that Three Point
Digital did not have to pay for the Firestream systems until it
re-sold the systems to customers.  

According to the Commission's Order, when Digital Lava's
auditors sought confirmation that no undisclosed agreements or
contingencies existed related to this transaction, Mr. Cloyd
confirmed the transaction without disclosing the contingency as
documented in the side letter.  

The Commission found that Mr. Cloyd's actions caused a violation
of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule
10b-5 thereunder, and ordered Mr. Cloyd to cease and desist from
committing or causing any violation and any future violations of
these provisions.  The Commission accepted an offer of
settlement submitted by Mr. Cloyd in which he, without admitting
or denying the Commission's findings, agreed to the entry of the
Order.   


TOBACCO LITIGATION: CA Court Asks Lower Court To Examine Damages
----------------------------------------------------------------
The California Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reexamine
the $26.5 million punitive damages a jury awarded against Philip
Morris USA to a sick smoker, in a move to comply with recent
Supreme Court decisions limiting punitive damages, the
Associated Press reports.

The verdict follows the US Supreme Court's decision last month
seeking a reconsideration of a $290 million punitive damages
award against Ford Motor Co. to survivors of a deadly California
car crash.  Earlier, the court also ordered a review of a $145
million punitive damages award against State Farm Insurance Co.

The High Court said juries should not consider a Company's
wealth in making the decision.  The court did not give an
absolute formula for determining what punishment is reasonable
but suggested in general, that there should be no more than a 9-
1 ratio between the punitive damage award and other damages
awarded to compensate for losses.

The California high court sent the suit to appellate court at
the request of the Company.  The punitive award amounted to
$26.5 million and the compensatory damages $1.5 million.  The
award was for Patricia Henley, a 57-year-old woman who started
smoking Marlboros at age 15 and smoked three packs a day until
1997, when she quit after suffering coughing fits and other
health problems.  She was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer,
AP states.

Top courts across the country are expected to follow suit as
they grapple with the US Supreme Court's decisions limiting
corporate liability.  

Philip Morris released a statement saying it believed the court
made "the legally correct decision," AP states.

Daniel Smith, Henley's attorney, told AP that, because the
tobacco concern's conduct was so outrageous, the high court's
decision left open the possibility that lofty awards could
stand.  "The defendant's misconduct is unprecedented and
extraordinarily reprehensible," Mr. Smith said.


UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Works On New Undergrad Admissions Policy
----------------------------------------------------------------
Officials at the University of Michigan said more counselors are
likely to be hired by fall to create a new undergraduate
admissions policy that will focus more on individual students
and consider the race of the applicants, the Detroit Free Press
reports.

The map to a legally acceptable policy was drawn, officials
said, in the US Supreme Court's decision to strike down the
University of Michigan's point-based undergraduate policy, but
uphold the more individualized policy used in the law school.

The new admissions system, according to officials, will stress
the "highly individualized holistic review" praised by Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote the majority opinion in the law
school case.  The new undergraduate admissions policy also will
consider race as a factor.  This new process will replace the
point system criticized in a 6 to 3 ruling as too automatic
because it awarded 20 points to under-represented minorities.

Whether US District Judge Timothy Duggan will supervise the
implementation of the new plan was not clear.  In 2000, Judge
Duggan ruled that the point system was constitutional, but that
an earlier admission system, which set aside seats for
minorities, was not.

Kirk Kolbo, an attorney for Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher,
the plaintiffs in the undergraduate case, said he is considering
seeking an injunction preventing the university from continuing
to use the point system.

Whether the university must pay damages to Ms. Gratz and Mr.
Hamacher and more than $1 million in legal fees to Mr. Kolbo and
other attorneys also must be decided by Judge Duggan, Mr. Kolbo
said.  He will file motions this summer seeking the damages and
legal fees.

Robert Sedler, a Wayne State University law professor and
constitutional expert, said that in order to collect damages,
the plaintiffs will have to prove they would have been admitted
under a different admissions system and were harmed by being
rejected by the University of Michigan.

Judge Duggan has a great deal of discretion to resolve the
constitutional violation," Professor Sedler said.  "The
plaintiffs' lawyers must make strategy decisions about what they
want in the district court."

Justice Day O'Connor, in upholding the law school plan, wrote
that race-conscious admissions plans should be subject to
"periodic review' to determine whether they are (still)
necessary to achieve a diverse student body.


*Companies Weigh in On University of Michigan Affirmative Action
----------------------------------------------------------------
Texaco and Coca-Cola, which have not always been seen as havens
for minority workers - each company settled a class action
discrimination case in the 1990's for nearly $200 million - have
both supported the University of Michigan's right to consider
the race and ethnicity of its student applicants, an issue on
which the US Supreme Court has recently ruled.  These two
corporations and others seen as corporate leaders, have brought
an interesting, even innovative, dimension to the debate about
the benefits of diversity on the college campus, according
to a report by the St. Petersburg Times.

After white applicants rejected by the university sued it for
reverse discrimination in 1997, dozens of Fortune 500 compani8es
signaled their support for affirmative action by filing friend-
of-the-court briefs on the university's behalf.

The corporations' key argument for letting university admissions
staff consider an applicant's race or ethnicity is not that
minorities deserve a hand-up, but that corporate leaders who
encountered diversity in college were better prepared to compete
in a global economy; especially, since most of such leaders had
grown up in segregated towns and schools.

"For a large percentage of white students who graduate from
selective academic institutions," General Motors Corporation
wrote in one brief, "those institutions offer their first and
last opportunity for significant contact with persons of other
races and cultures prior to entering the working world."

General Motors added, in the brief, that eliminating affirmative
action at universities would deprive corporate America of many
talented minority candidates - another beneficial aspect
altogether of the presence of diversity on the college campus.

The corporate view of the benefits of minority diversity on the
college campus is not the sort of "moral clarion call"
associated with the civil rights movement.  Corporate America's
support came as a surprise to some, given its own struggle with
diversity as evidenced in a number of class actions alleging
racial discrimination that have wended their way to settlement
through the courts.

General Motors, based in Detroit, recruits vigorously from the
University of Michigan, and argued that it might have more to
lose from an adverse court decision than most companies.  
General Motors said in its brief that the experience on campus
with cultural diversity helped its executives forge alliances
with companies like Fiat of Italy, and Honda and Toyota of
Japan.  The contact with cultural diversity also helped the
company learn how to design and market products to minorities, a
growing economic constituency.  The contact with minorities,
through the university, also helped managers tap the ideas
of an increasingly diverse work force.

"I do not believe that these executives are motivated
exclusively by social conscience," the university's then-interim
president, B. Joseph White, wrote last year in the Detroit Free
Press.

"They understand that excellent performance in a global economy
requires a diverse work force and leaders who are competent and
comfortable with such a work force," wrote President White.

The Supreme Court decisions rejected a point system used by
Michigan's undergraduate school to determine acceptance of a
minority applicant, but supported the Michigan law school's
consideration of race as a factor in its ultimate objective of
achieving cultural diversity.  These decisions are expected to
reverberate through university systems throughout the country.  
Florida, noted the St. Petersburg Times, prohibited affirmative
action at state universities in 1999.

Shori McWhorter, a labor and employment lawyer at Foley &
Lardner in Tampa, said she will continue to advise corporate
clients that the best way to improve corporate recruitment is to
widen their net.  That includes targeting predominantly minority
universities and job fairs, she said.

"Unless you are making up for past discrimination," said Ms.
McWhorter, "quotas are illegal."

The university appears to echo the corporations' concerns for
diversity, expressed in the St. Petersburg Times report, as it
sets forth to bring the undergraduate school's method of
achieving diversity in its admissions process more in line with
the law school's process.

"Sometimes, when people look at admissions, they think it is a
matter of preferences," said University of Michigan Provost Paul
Courant, according to AP.  "But we are putting together a class
that educates each other, and educates us, and that is where the
value of diversity fits in."

The High Court found the point system used by the undergraduate
school reflective of a quota system, but accepted affirmative
action as practiced in the law school's process of considering
race as a factor in achieving the desirable goal of diversity --
a goal acknowledged in the Bakke case, the first reverse
discrimination case to reach the Supreme Court.

                   New Securities Fraud Cases

CRYO-CELL INTERNATIONAL: Lockridge Grindal Files FL Stock Suit
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lockridge Grindal Nauen, PLLP initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the Middle
District of Florida, Tampa Division, on behalf of purchasers of
Cryo-Cell International, Inc. (NasdaqSC:CCELE) publicly traded
securities during the period between March 16, 1999 through may
20, 2003, inclusive.

The complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b)
and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material
misrepresentations to the market between March 16, 1999 and May
20, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Cryo-Cell
securities.

During the class period, the Company issued statements that
failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse
facts, among others:

     (1) that the Company had materially overstated its
         earnings, net income and earnings per share;

     (2) that the Company continually recognized revenue in
         violation of generally accepted accounting principles
         (GAAP) and the Company's own internal accounting
         principles with respect to related-party transactions,
         revenue sharing agreements and revenue recognition for
         the sale Area Licenses;

     (3) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and
         was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial
         condition of the Company; and

     (4) that as a result, the Company's financial results were
         materially overstated at all relevant times.

On April 15, 2003, the Company issued a press release wherein it
disclosed that it may be necessary to restate its financial
results for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 because of improper
recognition of revenue.  Shortly thereafter, on May 20, 2003,
the Company issued a press release announcing the resignation of
its auditor, Ernst & Young LLP and the Company's continued
assessment of certain revenue recognition accounting policies.
On news of this, Cryo-Cell shares fell 14%.

For more details, contact Karen Hanson Riebel by Mail: 100
Washington Avenue South Suite 2200, Minneapolis, MN 55401 by
Phone: (612) 339-6900 or by E-mail: khriebel@locklaw.com


INTERMUNE INC.: Goodkind Labaton Lodges Securities Lawsuit in CA
----------------------------------------------------------------
Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California, on behalf of all purchasers of
the securities of InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) during the
period January 6, 2003 to June 11, 2003, inclusive.  

The Complaint charges that the Company and the Company's CEO, W.
Scott Harkonen, violated Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making false and misleading
statements about one of the its leading products, Actimmune.
Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants were aware
that demand for Actimmune was declining because:

     (1) the most recent clinical study showed that Actimmune
         was not effective in the treatment of certain pulmonary
         diseases,

     (2) Actimmune inventory levels were increasing, and

     (3) doctor demand was falling due, in part, to the
         Company's decision to curtail physician education, the
         lifeblood of InterMune's off-label sales of Actimmune.

However, despite this knowledge, the Company falsely stated
during the class period that it was on course to meet projected
revenue figures, which had not been previously reduced to
reflect lowered demand for the drug.

On June 11, 2003, the Company announced that it was cutting its
2003 revenue guidance figures and slashing projected earnings
from Actimmune.  The Company also announced it had overstated
the number of patients using Actimmune and that, contrary to its
earlier representations, demand for Actimmune from physicians
was flat.  These disclosures sent the Company's stock price
plummeting to $16.74, a 33% one-day fall.

For more details, contact Chris Keller by Phone: 212/907-0700 or
by E-mail: ckeller@glrslaw.com


LABORATORY CORPORATION: Milberg Weiss Lodges Stock Lawsuit in NC
----------------------------------------------------------------
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP initiated a securities
class action on behalf of purchasers of the securities of
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) between
February 13, 2002 to October 3, 2002 inclusive.  The action is
pending in the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, against the Company and:

     (1) Thomas Macmahon (CEO),

     (2) Richard L. Novak (COO) and

     (3) Wesley Elingburg (CFO)

The complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b)
and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false
and misleading statements to the market between February 13,
2002 to October 3, 2002.

During the class period, the Company issued statements that
failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse
facts, among others:

     (i) that LabCorp was experiencing increased competition in
         its traditionally strongest and core markets, such as
         the Carolinas;

    (ii) the Company had understaffed certain of its core
         markets, leading to a lack of key employees, such as
         phlebotomists and account representatives, causing a
         material deterioration of service levels and a loss of
         business to increased competition;

   (iii) the decreased sale volume was caused by material
         operational deficiencies, rather than by a couple of
         pending deals that closed late, as the Company had
         represented;

    (iv) that defendants knew that the Company's sales problems
         would continue in the foreseeable future, contrary to
         its statements that volume growth would increase; and

     (v) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's assurance
         that its historical strong growth would continue lacked
         any reasonable basis.

Throughout the class period, LabCorp insiders, including the
individual defendants, sold a total of 316,112 shares of LabCorp
common stock at artificially inflated prices, grossing a total
of over $26 million.

On October 3, 2002, after the close of regular trading, LabCorp
shocked the market by announcing that it expects disappointing
third quarter of 2002 results, due to "continued slowdown in
volume growth in the routine, or core, testing business in
certain key regions of the country," which it expected would
continue at least until the end of 2002.

Investors, primed by defendants' Class Period statements to
believe that the Company's business was growing faster than
ever, and had already overcome the brief slowdown in growth
during the second quarter (as per the Company's statements),
were shocked to learn that the slowdown had continued and was
not expected to abate until after the end of the year and that
the slowdown had been in the Company's core business.

In reaction to the Company's belated disclosure, the price of
LabCorp common stock plummeted, falling 34.6% in one day, from a
close of $33.18 per share on October 3 to $21.68 per share on
October 4, on trading volume of over 21.2 million shares, which
is many times the Company's average daily trading volume.

For more details, contact Steven G. Schulman by Phone:
800/320-5081 by E-mail: LabCorpcase@milbergNY.com or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.milberg.com


PRINTCAFE SOFTWARE: Fruchter & Twersky Files Stock Lawsuit in PA
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fruchter & Twersky LLP initiated a securities class action in
the United States District Court for the Western District of
Pennsylvania on behalf of purchasers of Printcafe Software, Inc.
(Nasdaq: PCAF) common stock during the period between June 18,
2002 and October 22, 2002, inclusive.

The complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 11,
12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 by issuing a
materially false and misleading Registration Statement and
Prospectus in connection with Printcafe's initial public
offering (IPO).  

The complaint alleges that the Registration Statement and
Prospectus were materially false and misleading because
statements made therein failed to disclose and misrepresented
the following adverse facts, among others:

     (1) that demand for the Company's products and services was
         declining to the extent that the Company was not
         performing in line with its internal expectations;

     (2) that the Company's product development efforts were
         experiencing difficulties; and

     (3) that the Company's declining financial performance
         would require it to engage in a material restructuring
         of its operations in order to generate cost savings and
         reverse that negative trend.

At the time of the filing of the complaint, the price of
Printcafe common stock was $2.57 per share.

For more details, contact Jack G. Fruchter by Mail: One
Pennsylvania Plaza, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10119, by
Phone: (212) 279-5050 or (800) 440-8986, by Fax: (212) 279-3655,
or by E-mail: JFruchter@FruchterTwersky.com.  


                            *********

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Wednesday's edition of the Class Action Reporter. Submissions
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Each Friday's edition of the CAR includes a section featuring
news on asbestos-related litigation and profiles of target
asbestos defendants that, according to independent researches,
collectively face billions of dollars in asbestos-related
liabilities.  The Asbestos Defendant Profiles is backed by an
online database created to respond to custom searches. Go to
http://litigationdatasource.com/asbestos_defendant_profiles.html

                           *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Class Action Reporter is a daily newsletter, co-published by
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Copyright 2003.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1525-2272.

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