/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/030715.mbx           C L A S S   A C T I O N   R E P O R T E R
  
            Tuesday, July 15, 2003, Vol. 5, No. 138

                        Headlines                            

CANADA: Canada Post Offers Refunds To Settle Consumer Fraud Suit
CYBERGUARD CORPORATION: Agrees To Settle Securities Fraud Suit
DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS: Watching Long Movies Can Trigger Clots
ENRON CORPORATION: Reorganization To Repay Part Of Compensation
FASTFOOD LITIGATION: Seattle School Board Threatened With Suit

ILLINOIS: Court Orders State Child Care Dept To Make Changes
INDIAN FUNDS: Lawyer Says Indians Owed "Untold" Amounts  
INDIAN FUNDS: Govt Won't Settle Royalties Suit For Billions
JAPAN: 16 Families Launch Suit V. Tokyo Hospital For Malpractice
MICHIGAN: Detroit To Settle Lawsuit Filed on Detained Witnesses

MICHIGAN: Macatawa Bank Inherits Suit With Buyout Of Grand Bank
OKLAHOMA: Appeals Court Asked To Refuse Stay Of Bias Suit Pact
OKLAHOMA: Residents Sue Tar Creek Mining Firms Over Pollution
PEMSTAR INC.: Plaintiffs File Consolidated Securities Suit in MN
PENNSYLVANIA: Security Guards Launch Age Discrimination Lawsuit

PHILIP MORRIS: Shares Tumble As Bond Reduction Is Questioned
RHODE ISLAND: Judge Allows Testing Of Evidence in Club Fire Suit
TOBACCO LITIGATION: Wholesalers Sue Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds
UNITED STATES: Six Sioux Allege Child Abuse In Indian Schools
UNITED STATES: DC Appeals Court Rejects Suit Over Kenya Bombing

                     New Security Fraud Cases

BARRICK GOLD: Rabin Murray Lodges Securities Lawsuit in S.D. NY
CORNERSTONE PROPANE: Wolf Haldenstein Lodges Stock Lawsuit in CA
CORNERSTONE PROPANE: Marc Henzel Files Stock Lawsuit in N.D. CA
CREE INC.: Bull & Lifshitz Lodges Securities Lawsuit in M.D. NC
CREE INC.: Kaplan Fox Commences Securities Fraud Suit in M.D. NC

CRYO-CELL INTERNATIONAL: Rabin Murray Files Stock Lawsuit in FL
PARADIGM MEDICAL: Milberg Weiss Lodges Securities Suit in Utah
PEDIATRIX MEDICAL: Marc Henzel Lodges Securities Suit in S.D. FL
PEDIATRIX MEDICAL: Wolf Haldenstein Lodges Securities Suit in FL
RECOTON CORPORATION: Wolf Haldenstein Files Stock Lawsuit in FL

RECOTON CORPORATION: Marc Henzel Files Stock Lawsuit in M.D. FL


                          *********


CANADA: Canada Post Offers Refunds To Settle Consumer Fraud Suit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Canada Post is providing a $9.95 refund and three months free
Internet Services to more than 150,000 Canadians, to settle a
class action filed over its promotional offer in the fall of
2000, CBC News reports.

The Company started selling Internet for Life CD-ROMs, however,
by August 2001, two internet companies - Cybersurf and 3Web -
withdrew from the promotions.  They instead substituted free
unlimited Internet access with an offer of $9.95 a month.  
Customers filed a class action protesting the offer.

"If we allowed Canada Post.and these two other corporations,
which are publicly traded companies, to take $10 from 150,000
without any recourse or remedy, then there is something wrong
with our system," David Thompson, the lawyer who initiated the
lawsuit, told CBC News.

He also said he was satisfied with the settlement, because it
"deals with customer concerns" and made the corporation
accountable to its customers.  The court has yet to approve the
settlement, after which the three defendant companies will be
required to advertise the refunds in national newspapers.  
Canada Post has already started offering the refund at its
outlets.


CYBERGUARD CORPORATION: Agrees To Settle Securities Fraud Suit
--------------------------------------------------------------
CyberGuard Corporation entered into a memorandum of
understanding to settle the securities class action filed
against it and certain of its former officers in the United
States District Court in the Southern District of Florida on
behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the
Company's common stock during various periods from November 7,
1996 through August 24, 1998.  

The complaint alleges, among other things, that as a result of
accounting irregularities relating to the Company's revenue
recognition policies, the Company's previously issued financial
statements were materially false and misleading and that the
defendants knowingly or recklessly published these financial
statements which caused the Company's common stock prices to
rise artificially.

The settlement will become effective upon final approval by the
court.  The settlement amount of $10 million will require the
company to incur a onetime charge of approximately $4.3 million
in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2003 for the amount in
excess of the insurance coverage and related costs.  The
company's portion of the settlement will be made up of cash or
cash and equity, at the company's option.

Scott Hammack, chairman and CEO of CyberGuard, stated, "We are
very pleased with the terms of the settlement.  Closing this
chapter in our history allows us to focus on successfully
growing the company.  The lawsuit has historically limited our
options, but we are confident its resolution will provide the
freedom to do things we have not been able to do otherwise.  
Growing the business and providing quality service to our
customers will ultimately bring added value to our
shareholders."


DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS: Watching Long Movies Can Trigger Clots
------------------------------------------------------------
The New Zealand Medical Journal recently revealed that sitting
through long movies can trigger the formation of dangerous blood
clots.

Researchers have studied the case of Phyllis Caton, a resident
of Raumati, north of Wellington, New Zealand.  A half-hour after
Ms. Caton left the theatre after watching the three-hour movie
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, she developed severe pain
in her right leg.  Her leg began to swell the next day and she
was treated in hospital for a clot.  The article dubbed the new
condition "seated immobility thromboembolism" (SIT).

Several families in the United Kingdom have filed personal
injury suits against several airlines over a similar condition
called "deep vein thrombosis," which affects passengers who are
seated for a long time during a flight.  The suits allege the
airlines did not warn consumers enough about the dangers of DVT,
also called the "economy class syndrome."

Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
told the Journal Ms. Caton's habit of sitting at a computer for
two to three hours at a time probably increased her risk of
getting a clot.

"There are many situations where you can put yourself at risk,
and this is often not recognized by the medical profession,"
said Mr. Beasley.  Mr. Beasley advised people who are sitting
for a long time to do foot exercises while seated, not to cross
their legs and if possible, to stand up and walk around
regularly, CBC News reports.


ENRON CORPORATION: Reorganization To Repay Part Of Compensation
---------------------------------------------------------------
The thousands of creditors of Enron will receive a fraction of
what they are owed when the company, driven into bankruptcy by
an accounting scandal, contorted, tortuous and convoluted in its
structure and operation, emerges from Chapter 11 as two
companies with new names, The New York Times reports.  The plan
is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.

Enron's reorganization plan, which was filed early last Friday,
after five deadline extensions, said that most creditors would
receive 14.4 cents to 18.3 cents on every dollar owed.  Some
20,000 creditors are owed an estimated $67 billion in the
bankruptcy, one of the most expensive in history.

"This is a good day in what has been a very complicated
process," said restructuring expert Stephen Cooper, and Enron's
interim chief executive.

Enron was number 7 in the Fortune 500 in 2000, collapsed into
bankruptcy in 2001, swamped by revelations of billions of
dollars of hidden debt, inflated profits and complicated
accounting entries intended to give an impression of good
financial health.  Thousands of employees lost their jobs, and
the stock, which once traded as high as $90 a share, shrank to
pennies.

The expected payments to Enron's lenders fall short of other
bankruptcies.  Bondholders in the World.Com bankruptcy, the only
Chapter 11 case larger than Enron's, are to receive 36 cents on
the dollar, as compared to the 18.3 cents high, indicated above
for most Enron creditors.

Bondholders usually are behind creditors that hold
collateralized loans, like large banks, when it comes to seeking
what is left in a bankruptcy.  In Enron's case, the financial
institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, are
unsecured creditors like the bondholders.  Therefore, they will
receive the same slight payback.

The rest of Enron's plan, already approved by the major
creditors, says creditors will divide proceeds from asset sales
and auctions and receive equity in the two new companies - one
domestic, the other international.

The domestic business, Cross-Country Energy, will have Enron's
full or partial interest in three North American natural gas
pipelines.  The second company, to be called Prisma Energy
International, includes 19 international power and pipeline
holdings.

If Enron decides to keep Portland General Electric, its Pacific
Northwest utility, it would be a third independent company, and
creditors also would receive equity in that.  Enron is
soliciting bids for the utility.


FASTFOOD LITIGATION: Seattle School Board Threatened With Suit
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Seattle Board of Education was threatened with a lawsuit, if
it voted to extend an exclusive-rights contract with Coca-Cola
Co., Inc. to supply its soft drink vending machines, the
Washington Times reports.  

George Washington University law professor John Bhanzaf III sent
a legal notice to the board a few weeks ago, saying a group of
trial lawyers would sue them should they extend the contract.  
Mr. Bhanzaf, who has supported several suits against several
fast food chains, including the obesity suit against McDonald's,
alleges that school officials are contributing to childhood
obesity by selling sugar-laden beverages without offering
healthier alternatives like water and 100-percent fruit juice.

New York and Los Angeles have recently eliminated soft drinks
from their vending machines, and are closely watching the
Seattle board's vote this week on the extension of the vending
contract.  The Prince George's County school board is waiting on
the vote before making any changes in its soft-drink vending
machines, which serve some 52,000 students at middle and high
schools.

Spokeswoman Athena Ware told the Washington Times that Prince
George's County is somewhat safeguarded from any lawsuits
because it doesn't use exclusive-rights contracts and doesn't
operate vending machines during school hours; students may buy
drinks from the machines only during extracurricular events.

Larry Bowers, chief operating officer for Montgomery County
Public Schools, did not rule out food changes at county schools.  
The system recently took doughnuts off school menus, but schools
with soft-drink machines continue to sell soda, sports drinks,
fruit juice and water.  "There may be more significant changes
coming down the road," Mr. Bowers told the Times.

Pressure from class actions could push Seattle and other school
officials across the nation to ban soda from vending machines,
as Los Angeles County and New York have done.  Last year, the
Los Angeles school board voted to phase out soft drinks and
sugar-laden beverages from machines that sell to some 784,000
students.  New York school officials recently passed a measure
that eliminates soft drinks, hard candy and doughnuts.
    
  
ILLINOIS: Court Orders State Child Care Dept To Make Changes
------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Federal District Court Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer
ordered the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS) to institute substantial changes in the processes it uses
for investigating, deciding, and administratively adjudicating
cases of child abuse and neglect.

Following the court's March 30, 2001 ruling that held that the
DCFS investigative system was marked by extraordinarily high
rates of error following what are often cursory and one-sided
investigations, Judge Pallmeyer has now directed DCFS officials
to revise its system for its investigations of child abuse and
neglect (which number approximately 65,000 yearly) within 30
days.

The ruling was the second major decision in a class action filed
in 1997 (Dupuy v. McDonald) by lawyers associated with the
Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, Inc. and two
private civil rights law firms, Lehrer & Redleaf, and Johnson,
Jones, Snelling, Gilbert & Davis.  After conducting a three and
one-half week trial in the case, Judge Pallmeyer found that the
"massive record" solidly supported plaintiffs' claims. The
plaintiff class exceeds 150,000 persons.

The order entered today explicitly extends new procedural
protections for the portion of the plaintiff class who work
directly with children: teachers, day care owners and employees,
nannies, social workers and other professionals who are accused
of abuse or neglect, so as to prevent falsely accused persons
from losing their jobs and careers.  Previously, on the say-so
of an investigator and flimsy evidence, thousands of caring
professionals were branded as child abusers and blacklisted from
employment.  Under the court's order, these persons will have
the right to a high level administrative review of the evidence
before DCFS can take any action against them, and a right to a
full hearing on the merits of the charges against them within 35
days.  The court had previously found "unconscionable" delays --
averaging a year and a half -- in the DCFS administrative appeal
system.

The order also requires sweeping improvements in the
notification given to all persons who are under DCFS
investigation (including parents and guardians) as to the
evidence against them and their appeal rights.  It guarantees an
expedited review to all persons who are engaged in employment
that brings them into frequent contact with children, and a
prompt review (within 90 days) for all other persons DCFS
investigative staff label as guilty in "indicated reports" of
abuse or neglect.

In its ruling today, the court noted its conviction that
"lengthy delays in review of reports ultimately held unfounded
can be enormously prejudicial to child care workers, their
families and the children for whom they care" but that "in all
instances children are the victims, either because of the
disruption and pain caused by the loss of an innocent and
qualified care giver who is the target of an unfounded report,
or because long delays or poor investigations result in the
Department's inability to prove charges against guilty parties."

One of plaintiffs' counsel, Diane L. Redleaf, noted that this
ruling represented the court's reaffirmation of its earlier
determination that "falsely branding a child care professional
as a child abuser, hurts the very children DCFS claims to
protect."

Earlier, the court had found an extraordinarily high rate of
error in the DCFS investigative process, holding that "Something
is seriously and obviously flawed in a system where 75% of those
child care employees who appeal an indicated finding against
them have such a finding overturned or voluntarily expunged by
the State months, sometimes even years, later. During the
agonizing and frustrating period between accusation and
exoneration, these individuals . lose not only their pride and
reputation, but often their livelihood as well."

The court's 19-page memorandum opinion and order, and the
companion preliminary injunction order are available at the
federal court Website: http://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov.


INDIAN FUNDS: Lawyer Says Indians Owed "Untold" Amounts  
--------------------------------------------------------
Dennis Gingold, an attorney who is representing some 350,000
American Indians at the trial of the Indians' class action,
argued that the federal government will never be able to account
for the "untold" amounts of money owed to his clients, The Miami
Herald reports.  The government, Mr. Gingold said, has
squandered and lost billions of dollars in royalties owed the
Indians for the use of their lands.

"We say it is the integrity of the United States on trial
here," he said

Mr. Gingold asked US District Court Judge Royce Lamberth to
order the Interior Department to reimburse the Indians through a
plan the plaintiffs devised that accounts for royalties
collected from the use of Indian land for oil, gas, timber,
grazing, mining and other uses of Indian lands.  The Interior
Department manages 11 million acres of land held in trust for
the individual Indian landowners.  The lands generate some $300
million annually.

Mr. Gingold presented his remarks during the closing arguments
of a 44-day trial.  For more than a century, Mr. Gingold
asserted, the government has squandered and mismanage the money
owed to the Indian landowners, many of whom live in poverty and
rely on proceeds from their land to buy food, medicine, and to
heat their homes.  Thousands have died without seeing the money
to which they were entitled, he continued.

"We are not just talking about money. We are not just talking
about Indian lands.  We are talking about the effect on human
beings," he said.

John T. Stemplewicz, the Justice Department attorney
representing the government, said the Department of the
Interior's plan would give Indian landowners an accounting of
revenues generated from their land, as well as an accounting of
payments that have been made to the Indians.  He called the
plaintiffs' proposal "a quick fix to a complex problem."

Judge Lamberth ruled in 1999, that the government had breached
its trust responsibility to manage the Indians' funds, and
ordered the Interior Department to come up with a plan that both
looked back at the past and looked to the present and future.  
He ordered the Interior Department to perform a full accounting
of the Indian trust funds, and ordered them to fix its present
management of the funds.


INDIAN FUNDS: Govt Won't Settle Royalties Suit For Billions
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Bush administration is not willing to accept a billion-
dollar settlement for the suit filed against it on behalf of
more than 500,000 Indians who alleged the government owed them
royalties for the use of their land, Indianz.com reports.

Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff of the suit, assessed that the
government owned them $137 billion in oil, gas, mining, timber,
agriculture and other revenues, including interest generated
since 1887 in the Individual Indian Money Trust (IIM).

Department of Interior Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason told
the House Resources Committee said that settlement figure was
unrealistic.  He based his conclusion on the Arthur Andersen
study of the tribal trust, a controversial Ernst & Young report
on a handful of individual Indian beneficiaries and the
department's own initiatives, saying the settlement should be in
the "very low millions versus billions."

Ms. Cobell also pointed out that the plaintiffs and the
government agree, at least in court, that $13 billion has been
collected.  "It's up to the government to determine what those
disbursements were," whether they were for the right amount and
whether they were made to the right beneficiaries, she told the
panel, Indianz.com reports.

Several House representatives are backing a fair and equitable
resolution in the suit.  Led by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.),
the chairman of the committee, they vowed to defeat a proposal
contained in the House's version of the Interior appropriations
bill.  "If there is a legislative resolution, it will be done in
this committee, and it will not be done in the appropriations
committee," Pombo said, drawing applause from tribal leaders and
others in the hearing room, Indianz.com reports.

Efforts to settle the seven year-old suit have failed so far.  
The main problem, Ms. Cobell testified, is that the government
won't concede the full extent of its mismanagement over the past
century.  "They have to admit that they cannot do an
accounting," she said, citing missing and destroyed records.  
"Then we'll be on the same page."


JAPAN: 16 Families Launch Suit V. Tokyo Hospital For Malpractice
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital faces a possible
class action to be filed by parents whose children died or
suffered brain damage after heart operations at the hospital,
Japan Today reports.

Sixteen families are forming a liaison group to exchange
information on the issue, while several other families are
thinking about joining the suit.  The group's inauguration
meeting is set for July 19.

Last year, Dr. Kazuki Sato, a doctor at the hospital, was
indicted on charges of professional negligence in connection
with a heart operation in March 2001 that led to the death of
12-year-old girl Akika Hirayanagi.  Another doctor, Kazuhiro
Seo, was indicted the same day on charges of destroying evidence
related to Akika's death as the head of the surgical team, Japan
Today reports.

The group was formed after several families started suspecting
similar falsifications involving heart operations on their
children.  Seven families out of the 16 saw their children die
in or after heart operations between 1995 and 2001, and children
from seven other families were left with serious brain damage
after operations during the period, the members said.

The hospital has admitted that the cover-up was a coordinated
act on the part of hospital staff.  The Tokyo Women's University
Hospital was one of the country's most prestigious heart-
treatment institutions. Since the advanced treatment designation
has been removed, the hospital is unable to receive certain
forms of preferential treatment - such as added insurance
reimbursement for medical services, according to Kyodo News.


MICHIGAN: Detroit To Settle Lawsuit Filed on Detained Witnesses
---------------------------------------------------------------
The city of Detroit agreed to settle several lawsuits filed on
behalf of people who were detained by the police for being
"uncooperative homicide witnesses," the Associated Press
reports.  The city agreed to pay $3.4 million to more than 100
people who alleged their civil rights were violated.

The city forged an agreement with the federal government last
month, after a 30-month investigation.  The suits were started
off with the case of Janetta Toles, who was detained for four
days while investigators asked her about a deadly 1997 drive-by
shooting.  She has since settled with the city for $200,000.  
The city has since settled many cases to avoid litigation.  The
city also agreed that material witnesses can now be jailed only
if investigators obtain a court order.

"You have people who are in a unique position to take advantage
of the system when police are desperate to get killers off the
street," attorney David Zacks, who has defended police
investigators in some of the cases, said in Sunday's Detroit
News.

"You can't hold girlfriends or cousins just to get other people
to turn themselves in, or you're going to pay," Jeffrey Lewis,
co-director of the Eastern Michigan University Staff and Command
School, a training program for police managers told the
Associated Press.  "We're not set up for KGB justice."

"The end goal is to get some justice, some recompense, for
people who were the victims of a long-standing, unconstitutional
policy of the Detroit Police Department," Mark Kriger, an
attorney involved in the pending federal lawsuits told AP.


MICHIGAN: Macatawa Bank Inherits Suit With Buyout Of Grand Bank
---------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin Smith, Macatawa Bank's chairman and chief executive
officer, has been on the phone with analysts, clarifying how his
bank inherited a lawsuit in its April 2002 buyout of Grand Bank,
located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, The Grand Rapids Press
reports.

The "inherited" lawsuit was filed this spring in US District
Courts in Grand Rapids and Texas, by investors in Trade Partners
Inc.  That Grand Rapids company has since closed, its founder
has filed bankruptcy and investors are suing to find their
money.

Grand Bank, a private Grand Rapids bank, until acquisition by
Macatawa Bank, acted as escrow agent for Trade Partners, and as
a result is included in the class action, Macatawa told the SEC
in its filing with that regulatory body.

Trade Partners bought and sold viaticals, a little-known
investment vehicle, in which terminally ill people sell their
life insurance policies for less than face value.  The buyer
assumes responsibility for premiums, then collects when the
seller dies.  If death is quick, the buyer gets a better return
on the investment.

The investors allege Grand Bank breached the escrow agreements;
breached its fiduciary duties and acted negligently in serving
as a custodian of the plaintiff investors' investments in Trade
Partners.

Macatawa's filing also acknowledges the possibility of
additional lawsuits "involving the custodial and escrow agent
services provided by Grand Bank in connection with Trade
Partners."   However, Mr. Smith said he anticipates all possible
legal actions may be consolidated, and hopes eventually to put
the matter behind them.  Mr. Smith said Grand Bank already has
been dismissed as defendant from two other lawsuits in
connection with Trade Partners.

Mr. Smith said he still considers the Grand Bank buyout to be 90
percent a good deal, with a one percent surprise.  Macatawa,
with about $1.2 billion in assets and shareholders' equity in
excess of $116 million, said in its SEC filing that it "believes
that any litigation related to Trade Partners will not result in
a material adverse impact on the corporation."


OKLAHOMA: Appeals Court Asked To Refuse Stay Of Bias Suit Pact
--------------------------------------------------------------
Attorneys for the City of Tulsa and a group of black officers
who earlier sued the city for racial discrimination, recently
filed documents with an appellate court, opposing the Fraternal
Order of Police's (FOP) request for a stay in implementing the
subsequent settlement resolving the discrimination issues raised
in the class action.

The lower court federal judge who denied the police union's
attempt to delay implementing that lawsuit settlement made a
"well-reasoned" ruling that should be upheld, the lawyers for
the city and the black officers group argued before the Tenth US
Circuit Court of Appeals.  Attorney for the black officers
group, Robert Blakemore, argued further that putting
implementation "on ice for upwards of two years" while the FOP's
appeal is considered by the appeals court, would not allow the
City to move forward.

On June 23, the FOP asked the appellate court to order the stay
that US District Court Judge Sven Erik Holmes had chosen not to
issue five days earlier.  Judge Holmes ruled that any delay in
implementation would increase the racial division the nine-year-
old lawsuit already has caused in the community and might cause
a "deterioration of the currently cooperative relationship
between the plaintiff black officers group and the city."

The FOP claimed in its appellate filing that no harm to the city
or the "public interest" would result from freezing the case
while its appeal of the settlement is pending.  The FOP, which
was allowed to intervene in the case in September, noted in its
stay appeal that the case was at a standstill for about five
years without objection by the plaintiffs or the city.

Joel Wohlgemuth, an attorney for the city, wrote that the delay
request is the latest example of the obstinate behavior by the
police union, which he said "has remained intransigent since it
intervened and has attempted to block or stay implementation of
the consent decree at every turn."

The FOP said in its stay appeal that its members want to defend
"against the false claim of race discrimination and defend the
current practices and policies of the Tulsa Police Department."  
The plaintiffs and the city wrote in their filings that any
assertion the FOP is entitled to a trial on the merits of the
class action is contrary to US Supreme Court precedent.


OKLAHOMA: Residents Sue Tar Creek Mining Firms Over Pollution
-------------------------------------------------------------
A northeast Oklahoma mining site is dotted with mountains of
lead-filled mining waste, open mine shafts, lead-contaminated
soil and sink holes after decades of mineral mining.  This site,
located in Picher, Oklahoma, is also the place where many Tar
Creek mining companies conducted their operations.  It is now a
Superfund site, scheduled for remediation cleanup by the
government, the Associated Press Newswires reports.

Ten residents of Picher, the Picher-Cardin School Board and the
city of Picher have filed a lawsuit, seeking class action
status, which accuses six mining companies of trespass and
creating a nuisance.  The lawsuit also asks for relocation of
residents, as well as for compensation for property and job
placement.  Medical monitoring is sought for residents who have
been exposed to contamination.

The lawsuit names six companies that mined the area from 1917 to
1972; the companies, which now operate under new names, are:  

     (1) Asarco Inc.,

     (2) Blue Tee Corporation,

     (3) Goldfields Mining Corporation,

     (4) NL Industries,

     (5) Childress Royalty Co. and

     (6) Doe Run Resources Corporation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other attorneys for the plaintiffs
suing the Tar Creek mining companies, toured the Superfund site
Thursday, for a firsthand look at the area's hazards.  The
attorneys, Mr.Kennedy, Christopher Seeger and Charles Speer also
met with Picher and Cardin residents.


PEMSTAR INC.: Plaintiffs File Consolidated Securities Suit in MN
----------------------------------------------------------------
Plaintiffs in the securities class actions filed against
PEMSTAR, Inc. filed a consolidated securities class action in
the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.  
The suit also names as defendants several current and former
officers and directors.

The suit alleges violations of Section 10(b) and Section 20(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Sections 11 and 12 of
the Securities Act of 1933.  The plaintiffs, several individual
shareholders, allege, in essence, that the defendants defrauded
our shareholders by making optimistic statements during a time
when they should have known that business prospects were less
promising and allege that the registration statement filed by us
in connection with a secondary offering contained false,
material misrepresentations.

Last year, two different individual shareholders also commenced
virtually identical shareholder derivative actions against the
Company as nominal defendant and its Board of Directors, in
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.  The
allegations in the derivative actions are based on many of the
same facts that gave rise to the securities action.  The lawsuit
alleges that the Company's Board breached its fiduciary duties.

It is too early to predict the likelihood of prevailing on the
various lawsuits, the Company stated in a disclosure to the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission.


PENNSYLVANIA: Security Guards Launch Age Discrimination Lawsuit
---------------------------------------------------------------
A dozen older part-time security guards at the David L. Lawrence
Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania filed an age-
discrimination complaint against SMG, the private firm hired by
the city to run the new $275 complex, the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette reports.

The plaintiffs alleged that SMG's management there has sharply
reduced their working hours and their incomes without giving any
reason.  The group of unhappy workers, who are mostly in their
50s, 60s and 70s, is led by part-time guard Kathleen Hussak of
Arlington.  The suit was filed with the city's Human Relations
Commission.

Other plaintiffs include fellow security guards John Harris, 50,
of the Hill District, Blair Gorczyca, 61, of South Park
Township, Alexander Dell, 76, of Arlington, and Howard Janzen,
53, of West Mifflin.


PHILIP MORRIS: Shares Tumble As Bond Reduction Is Questioned
------------------------------------------------------------
Parent company Altria Group Inc.'s shares tumbled more than nine
percent over new concerns that Altria's unit Philip Morris USA
could be forced to post a potentially bankrupting bond in the
class action over deceptive statements the tobacco company made
about the safety of its light cigarettes, Reuters News reports.  
Litigation concern over tobacco also spread to other tobacco
stocks, which were affected by a report of merger talks between
RJ Reynolds and British American Tobacco, analysts said.

An Illinois state appeals court heard arguments recently on the
issue of lower-court Judge Nicholas Byron's authority to slash
the bond Philip Morris must post while it appeals the $10.1
billion verdict against it in the class action over its "light"
cigarettes.

Judge Byron, in the case of Price vs. Philip Morris, originally
ordered the tobacco company to post a $12 billion bond in order
to protect company assets from being depleted during appeals.  
Weeks later, Judge Byron cut the bond almost in half amid fears
that the higher amount could prevent Philip Morris from making
its payment to the states under the terms of the landmark 1998
tobacco settlement.  The size of the original bond also produced
concerns that it could push Philip Morris into bankruptcy.

Morgan Stanley's tobacco analyst David Adelman said the appeals
court will likely find that Judge Byron "lacked the authority to
alter" the bond.  Such a finding, Mr. Adelman said, would
"increase the market's legal anxiety.  A decision from the
Illinois appeals court could come any time in the next week,
said Smith Barney analyst Bonnie Herzog.  Ms. Herzog said there
is a 50-50 chance the appeals court will hand the issue to the
Illinois Supreme Court; a 30 percent chance the court will
uphold Judge Byron's decision reducing the bond; and a 20
percent chance the court will reinstate the original $12 billion
bond.

Philip Morris USA has petitioned for an expedited hearing of its
appeal in the Price v. Philip Morris case, but has not yet
received a response.


RHODE ISLAND: Judge Allows Testing Of Evidence in Club Fire Suit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Alice Gibney approved a plan
to test evidence in lawsuits filed against The Station
nightclub, over a deadly fire in February 2003 that killed 100
people and injured almost 200 others, the Associated Press
reports.  

The tragedy occurred during a concert of 80's hard rock band
Great White, which had just started playing when giant
pyrotechnic sparklers on stage began shooting up and igniting
the ceiling above the crowd, an earlier Class Action Reporter
story states.  The fire quickly spread through the low-ceilinged
building, filling it with thick black smoke.  The entire club
was engulfed in flames within three minutes.  Many of the
customers thought the pyrotechnics were part of the act.  

Judge Gibney approved the plan for testing evidence from the
building's charred ruins, including fans, foam and mangled wire,
allowing experts to test 717 items from the club.  Judge Gibney
also decided attorneys for the victims' families and fire
survivors can question West Warwick officials on the fire.  
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the four suits are hopeful that
the items will reveal the reason why the fire spread so quickly.  

Mark Mandell, one of the lead attorneys for potential
plaintiffs, told the Associated Press he did not have a
timetable for how long the testing would take or when it would
begin.

Lead counsel in the lawsuits Max Winstow earlier subpoenaed 11
town officials to appear with records relating to the club fire.  
Mr. Wistow and attorneys for the town worked out the evidence
plan details last week.  Mr. Wistow is seeking documents
including the club's zoning applications, building inspections,
fire inspections and reports of injuries.  Foam manufacturers,
club promoters and contractors are also expected to be
subpoenaed for documents, Mr. Mandell told the Associated Press.

Max Wistow, last month issued subpoenas ordering 11 town
officials to appear at his law office with records pertaining to
the club.  He and Mr. Mandell are trying to build a case against
product manufacturers and others they say are responsible for
the rapid spread of the fire and the toxic fumes emitted by its
smoke.


TOBACCO LITIGATION: Wholesalers Sue Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds
--------------------------------------------------------------
Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. face two lawsuits
filed by more than a dozen cigarette wholesalers in the United
States District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, alleging that
its pricing programs are illegally designed to stifle
competition, the Associated Press reports.

The suits alleged that it is illegal for the companies to offer
deep discounts only to wholesalers who sell more of their brands
than those of competitors.  Kyle Keegan, the lead lawyer for the
wholesalers, told AP that his clients sell cigarettes in rural
areas, where consumer prefer cheaper brands than those that
Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds produce.

Mr. Keegan continued that his clients have no choice but to sell
the cheaper brands that customers demand, though he said the
wholesalers also need to buy some cigarettes made by industry
leaders Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds.  "If they cannot as a
practical matter qualify for the better pricing then it is not
available to them as Philip Morris suggests," Mr. Keegan told
AP.

Philip Morris spokesman Brendan McCormick denied the
allegations, saying the pricing program is based on the
percentage of company cigarettes wholesalers sell, not volume,
and is therefore open to all wholesalers, large and small.  "We
make the discounts available to all wholesalers, and they are
free to sell the brands that make the most sense for their
business," Mr. McCormick told AP.

RJ Reynolds attorney Darryl Marsch told AP some wholesalers
emphasize deep discount brands not because of customer demand
but because they make a larger profit on those cigarettes, some
of which are made overseas where labor costs are low.

The state of Tennessee has joined the suits against the
companies, arguing it is intervening to protect consumers from
unfair competition.  Mississippi also is seeking to intervene.  
The distributors are based in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York,
Texas and Virginia.


UNITED STATES: Six Sioux Allege Child Abuse In Indian Schools
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sonny One Star, a leader on the Rosebud Sioux Indian
Reservation, where he grew up in a Roman Catholic boarding
school, has joined with five other Sioux to sue the federal
government for $25 billion on behalf of perhaps thousands of
students allegedly abused at Indian boarding schools around the
country, the Associated Press Newswires reports.  The lead
plaintiffs are seeking to have the case certified as a class
action.

Sonny One Star says he learned not to cry or scream when he was
beaten and sexually assaulted at his boarding school on the
Rosebud reservation.  Now, four decades later, he has opted for
taking legal action to give witness to a terrible wrong against
children.  Mr. One Star also said, "Today I am ready for
retaliation."

The lawsuit, filed in the US Court of Federal Claims in
Washington, asks for $25 billion on behalf of the mistreated,
sexually abused children.  The lawsuit accuses the government of
failing to live up to treaties dating to the 1800s requiring it
to protect tribes from, as the treaties put it, "bad men among
the whites."  The lawsuit also argues that the government set up
the boarding school system to try to wipe out the Indian
culture, tradition and language.

Some former students confirmed the plaintiffs' allegations.  
Sherwyn Zephier, for example, is one of the former students who
confirmed some of Sonny One Star's claims.  He said he and other
students were beaten with boards and leather straps at St.
Paul's in Marty, headquarters of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.  "They
did it in the name of God," said Mr. Zephier, now a teacher at
the tribal school that replaced St. Paul's.  He added that the
priests were trying to torture the Indian children's "evil
culture" out of them.

Some students said it never happened to them; for example, 67-
year-old Patrick Lee, today an administrator at Ogala Lakota
College on the Pine Ridge Reservation, said the beatings and
sexual abuse never happened to him and that he never heard of it
happening to anybody while he attended Holy Rosary from 1942 to
1953.

Priests and officials responded to the allegations by asserting
their ignorance of the abuse described in the allegations.   
However, they expressed a desire to offer healing to any abused
or harmed individuals.  In one instance, officials of the
Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, which ran the St.
Francis and Holy Rosary Schools, said they are investigating the
charges made by the lawsuit and want to provide pastoral care to
anyone who might have been abused.

Lead attorney Jeffrey Herman said more lawsuits will be filed in
other states, naming other schools and adding Catholic
organizations as defendants.  Mr. Herman said that while the
government might argue that the statute of limitations for
raising such claims has run out, such a defense could be
overcome by arguing that the defendants concealed the children's
claims, and that the abused youngsters were unable to take any
action at the time.


UNITED STATES: DC Appeals Court Rejects Suit Over Kenya Bombing
---------------------------------------------------------------
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
threw out a lawsuit filed against the United States government,
on behalf of the victims of the 1998 bombing of the American
embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and their families, the Associated
Press reports.

The bombing and a near-simultaneous bombing of the United States
embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed 224 people and
injured more than 5,000.  The government blamed the attacks on
the al-Qaida, the terrorist group thought to be behind the
September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The suit charges the US government with failing to adequately
protect their embassy from terrorists.  A lower court ruled
earlier that such suit could not be brought under American law,
a ruling that the appellate court upheld.

The appeals court ruled that a suit could proceed only if
plaintiffs could show that the government violated a specific
regulation, law or policy.  There are no such rules that embassy
employees must follow in providing security; rather, they make
constant adjustments based on information they receive, the
appeals court said, AP reports.

"Embassy security is vested in the discretion of State
Department employees, from the Secretary to the foreign service
offices at various embassies," the court said.


                     New Security Fraud Cases


BARRICK GOLD: Rabin Murray Lodges Securities Lawsuit in S.D. NY
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rabin Murray & Frank LLP initiated a securities class action in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of
New York, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or
otherwise acquired Barrick Gold Corporation securities
(NYSE:ABX) during the period February 14, 2002 to September 26,
2002, both dates inclusive.  The complaint names as defendants
the Company and:

     (1) Randall Oliphant,

     (2) John K. Carrington, and

     (3) Jamie C. Sokalasky

The complaint alleges that defendants violated section 10(b) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated
thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  In
particular, the complaint alleges Barrick assured the markets
that it was improving its operations by keeping its production
costs in check and that the Company expected to earn $0.42-$0.47
per share in 2002, even taking into account the phasing out of
several mines and decreasing ore quality which increases costs
in several of its mines.

These representations were materially false and misleading,
according to the complaint, because they failed to disclose that

     (1) the Company's expected costs for the year would be well
         above the figures highlighted to the public,

     (2) Barrick's costs per ounce had increased dramatically in
         2002 and would continue to increase throughout the
         year, and

     (3) the Company's repeated assurances that production and
         costs would continue to improve in 2002 were lacking in
         any reasonable basis and were contradicted by facts
         known to defendants, or, at the very least, recklessly
         disregarded by them.

On September 26, 2002, the Company announced that it expected to
earn materially less in 2002 than previously announced due to
increased costs stemming from production issues at several mines
which the Company misleadingly represented during the class
period, would be resolved in the second half of 2002.

In reaction to the announcement, which came only days after the
Company reiterated its positive expectations, Barrick's stock
fell by 10.5% in one day, from $17.77 on September 25, 2002 to
$15.90 on September 26, 2002 on extremely heavy trading volume.

For more details, contact Eric J. Belfi or Sharon Lee by Phone:
(800) 497-8076 or (212) 682-1818 by Fax: (212) 682-1892 or by E-
mail: email@rabinlaw.com


CORNERSTONE PROPANE: Wolf Haldenstein Lodges Stock Lawsuit in CA
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California, on behalf of all persons who
purchased the publicly traded units of CornerStone Propane
Partners LP (OTC: CNPP.PK) between November 2, 1999 and February
11, 2003, inclusive, against CornerStone and certain officers of
the Company.

The complaint alleges that CornerStone disseminated false and
misleading statements to the investing public with respect to
its financial results during the class period.  More
specifically, throughout the class period, the Partnership faced
the crisis of having to renegotiate its capital credit lending
agreements, set to expire on November 30, 2001.

The complaint further alleges that faced with the situation of
either acquiring capital credit or undergoing liquidation,
CornerStone issued statements that omitted and/or misrepresented
the following adverse facts, such as:

     (1) the Partnership had materially overstated its earnings
         before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
         (EBITDA), net income and earnings per unit;

     (2) the Partnership lacked sufficient internal controls and
         was therefore unable to accurately determine the
         financial condition of CornerStone; and

     (3) consequently, the value of the Partnership's EBITDA,
         net income and financial results were materially
         overstated at all relevant times.

On February 11, 2003, the Partnership filed a Current Report on
Form 8-K and revealed that it had to restate its financial
results for fiscal years 2000 and 2001.  On this news, units in
the partnership fell to a Class Period low of $.40 per unit.

For more details, contact Fred Taylor Isquith, Michael Miske,
George Peters or Derek Behnke by Mail: 270 Madison Avenue, New
York, New York 10016, by Phone: (800) 575-0735 by E-mail:
classmember@whafh.com or visit the firm's Website:
http://www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence should make  
reference to Cornerstone.


CORNERSTONE PROPANE: Marc Henzel Files Stock Lawsuit in N.D. CA
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California on behalf of purchasers of CornerStone
Propane Partners LP (OTC Pink Sheets: CNPP) formerly (NYSE: CNO)
publicly traded securities during the period between November 2,
1999 and February 11, 2003, inclusive.

The complaint charges CornerStone and certain of its officers
and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated
thereunder.  Throughout the class period, defendants issued a
series of material misrepresentations to the market between
November 2, 1999, and February 11, 2003, which served to
artificially inflate the price of CornerStone securities.

More specifically, the Complaint alleges that during the Class
Period, the Partnership was faced with the crisis of having to
renegotiate its capital credit lending agreements, which were
set to expire on November 30, 2001.  Faced with this situation
of needing to obtain capital credit or face liquidation, the
Partnership issued statements that failed to disclose and/or
misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others:

     (1) that the Partnership had materially overstated its
         earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
         amortization (EBITDA), net income and earnings per
         unit;

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

     (3) that as a result, the value of the Partnership's
         EBITDA, net income and financial results were
         materially overstated at all relevant times.

On February 11, 2003, the Partnership revealed in its 8-K filed
with SEC that it had to restate its financial results for fiscal
years 2000 and 2001 due to the Partnership's knowledge of known
errors in reporting its financial results for fiscal years 2000
and 2001.  In response to this announcement, the price of
CornerStone securities declined precipitously.

For more details, contact Marc S. Henzel by Mail: 273 Montgomery
Ave, Suite 202 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-2808, by Phone:
888-643-6735 or 610-660-8000, by Fax: 610-660-8080, by E-mail:
Mhenzel182@aol.com or visit the firm's Website:
http://members.aol.com/mhenzel182.  


CREE INC.: Bull & Lifshitz Lodges Securities Lawsuit in M.D. NC
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bull & Lifshitz LLP initiated a securities class action in the
United States District Court for the Middle District of North
Carolina on behalf of purchasers of Cree, Inc., (NasdaqNM:CREE)
between July 24, 2001 and June 13, 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, thereby artificially inflating
the price of Cree securities.

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 July 24, 2001
and June 13, 2003.  Specifically the complaint states that:

     (1) the Company failed to disclose that a material portion
         of the Company's revenues were generated from non
         ``arms-length'' sales to related entities that did not
         reflect the true demand for the Company's products;

     (2) the Company did not implement and maintain an adequate
         internal accounting control system;

     (3) since 2002, Cree's former President and CEO, Eric
         Hunter, had alleged to the Company's board of directors
         that the Company was improperly accounting for
         transactions with related entities and was issuing and
         filing materially false and misleading press releases
         and financial reports; and

     (4) a material portion of Cree's reported Class Period
         sales were improperly recognized and reported in the
         Company's financial statements in violation of
         Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

The market first learned of Cree's improper revenue recognition
practices on June 13, 2003, when Cree announced that its former
CEO, President and Chairman had filed a private action accusing
the Company and current Chairman, F. Neal Hunter, of misleading
investors and the SEC by issuing false press releases and filing
false financial statements.  In the wake of this announcement,
the price of Cree common stock fell sharply, from $22.21 per
share on June 12, 2003 to $18.10 per share on June 13, 2003.
This change represents a 18.5% drop in one day, on unusually
high trading volume of almost 28 million shares.

For more details, contact Peter D. Bull, or Joshua M. Lifshitz
by Phone: (212) 213-6222, by Fax: (212) 213-9405 or by E-mail:
counsel@nyclasslaw.com or visit the firm's Website:
http://www.nyclasslaw.com


CREE INC.: Kaplan Fox Commences Securities Fraud Suit in M.D. NC
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP initiated a securities class action
against Cree, Inc. (NasdaqNM:CREE) and certain of its officers
and directors, in the United States District Court for the
Middle District of North Carolina.  This suit is brought on
behalf of all persons or entities, other than defendants, who
purchased Cree common stock between August 19, 1998, and June
13, 2003, inclusive.

The complaint alleges that Cree and certain of its officers and
directors violated the federal securities laws.  During the
class period, defendants issued statements that failed to
disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts,
among others:

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

     (2) that the defendants artificially inflated Cree's
         operating income by improperly recognizing revenue on
         purported "sales" of Cree's silicon carbide crystals to
         C3 Inc., an affiliated company of Cree that was run by
         the brother of the company's former CEO;

     (3) that the defendants failed to disclose, in Cree's
         registration statements and its prospectuses, how
         proceeds from its secondary offerings would be used;

     (4) that the defendants artificially inflated Cree's
         operating income so that they could participate in the
         Company's "discretionary incentive program" and so that
         the Company's outside directors would qualify for
         additional Cree stock options;

     (5) that the defendants were concealing these facts in
         order to manipulate the Company's earnings so that
         defendants could unload material amounts of their Cree
         holdings for more than $68 million; and

     (6) that the false and misleading information disseminated
         by the defendants caused Cree's common stock to trade
         at artificially inflated prices.

For more details, contact Robert N. Kaplan, Christine M. Fox by
Mail: 805 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10022                 
by Phone: (800) 290-1952 or (212) 687-1980 by Fax:
(212) 687-7714 or by E-mail: mail@kaplanfox.com


CRYO-CELL INTERNATIONAL: Rabin Murray Files Stock Lawsuit in FL
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rabin Murray & Frank LLP initiated a securities class action in
the United States District Court for the Middle District of
Florida, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or
otherwise acquired Cryo-Cell International securities
(NasdaqSC:CCELE) during the period March 16, 1999 to May 20,
2003, both dates inclusive.  The Complaint names as defendants
the Company and:

     (1) Mercedes Walton,

     (2) Gerald F. Maass,

     (3) Jill M. Taymans,

     (4) Edward Modzelewski,

     (5) Frederick C. S. Wilhelm,

     (6) Wanda D. Dearth,

     (7) Junior Winokur,

     (8) Daniel D. Richard,

     (9) Ronald Richard,

    (10) Charles D. Nyberg,

    (11) John V. Hargiss,

    (12) Weinick Sanders Leventhal & Co., LLP, and

    (13) Mirsky, Furst & Associates, P.A.

The complaint alleges that defendants violated section 10(b) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated
thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  In
particular, the complaint alleges that defendants failed to
disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts,
among others:

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

    (ii) 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;

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

    (iv) 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 Eric J. Belfi or Sharon Lee by Phone:
(800) 497-8076 or (212) 682-1818 by Fax: (212) 682-1892 by E-
mail: email@rabinlaw.com


PARADIGM MEDICAL: Milberg Weiss Lodges Securities Suit in Utah
--------------------------------------------------------------
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP initiated a securities
class action on behalf of purchasers of the securities of
Paradigm Medical Industries, Inc. during the period from April
17, 2000 through May 14, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"),
who have been damaged thereby.  The action is pending in the
United States District Court for the District of Utah, Central
Division, against the Company and:

     (1) Thomas Motter (CEO),

     (2) Mark Miehle (President), and

     (3) John Hemmer (VP)

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 April 17, 2000
and May 14, 2003.  

The complaint alleges that the Defendants misrepresented to the
investing public that Paradigm had received from the American
Medical Association (AMA), authorization for a Common Procedure
Terminology (CPT) code for reimbursement to doctors for use in
connection with its Ocular Blood Flow Analyzer (BFA).  

The CPT code was critical.  Without a reimbursement code
physicians would not purchase the BFA because they could not
receive compensation for performance of medical procedures using
the machine.  In truth, Paradigm had never received the
reimbursement CPT code from the AMA during the Class Period or
at any other time.  Nevertheless, Paradigm continued to
misrepresent in its SEC filings and press releases that it had
received the CPT code.  The Company never made a full,
corrective disclosure with respect to this misstatement.

During the Class Period, Paradigm also misrepresented to the
investing public that it had received a $105 million dollar
purchase order for the Company's products.  Contrary to the
Company's representation, Paradigm had never received a true
purchase order for sale of its products.  Plaintiff and the
Class relied on Defendants' misrepresentations in purchasing
and/or retaining PMED stock during the Class Period.

Defendants' misrepresentations caused the market price of the
stock to be artificially inflated during the Class Period.  The
putative class has therefore suffered millions of dollars in
damages as a result of defendants' wrongful conduct.

For more details, contact Steven G. Schulman by Mail: One
Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th fl., New York, NY, 10119-0165 by
Phone:(800) 320-5081 by E-mail: paradigmcase@milbergNY.com or
visit the firm's Website: http://www.milberg.com


PEDIATRIX MEDICAL: Marc Henzel Lodges Securities Suit in S.D. FL
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Flordia on behalf of all purchasers of the common
stock of Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:PDX - News) from
April 17, 2002 through June 23, 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 April 17, 2002 and June
23, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Pediatrix
common stock.

The complaint alleges that these statements were materially
false and misleading because they failed to disclose and
misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others:

     (1) that the defendants engaged in fraudulent ``upcoding''
         in its billing practices while telling the investing
         public that its billing practices were legitimate;

     (2) by virtue of having improperly received and recorded as
         revenue payments to which Pediatrix was not entitled,
         Pediatrix materially inflated several key indicators,
         including operating income, net inpatient revenue per
         admission, EBITDA and EBITDA margins;

     (3) that these unsafe and unsound business practices
         materially misrepresented the Company's business
         operations and financial performance by enabling the
         defendants to post better financial results; and

     (4) that as a result, the Company's stock price was
         artificially inflated.

On June 24, 2003, the Company issued a press release with the
headline: ``Pediatrix Notified of Billing Inquiry.''  Therein,
the Company announced that it had been advised by the U.S.
Attorney's Office that it was conducting a civil investigation
into Pediatrix's Medicaid billing practices nationwide.
Additionally, the Company announced that the U.S. Attorney's
Office intended to make a document and information request,
informally or by subpoena, within the next few weeks.

Market reaction to the news was swift.  Pediatrix's shares fell
24% or $9.90 per share, on unusually high trading volume, to
close at $32.20 per share.

For more details, contact Marc S. Henzel by Mail: 273 Montgomery
Ave, Suite 202 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-2808, by Phone:
888-643-6735 or 610-660-8000, by Fax: 610-660-8080, by E-mail:
Mhenzel182@aol.com or visit the firm's Website:
http://members.aol.com/mhenzel182.  


PEDIATRIX MEDICAL: Wolf Haldenstein Lodges Securities Suit in FL
----------------------------------------------------------------
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, on behalf of all persons who
purchased the common stock of Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc.
(NYSE: PDX) between April 17, 2002 and June 23, 2003, inclusive,
against the Company and certain officers of the Company.

The complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of
material misrepresentations to the market in order to
artificially inflate the price of Pediatrix common stock.  The
complaint alleges that these statements were materially false
and misleading because they omitted:

     (1) that the defendants utilized "upcoding," a fraudulent
         practice in its billing practices though they
         publicized its billing practices as legitimate; and

     (2) Pediatrix materially inflated its Class Period
         financial results by including these fraudulent
         revenues.

On June 24, 2003, the Company announced in a press release that
the US Attorney's Office had advised that it was performing a
civil investigation into Pediatrix's Medicaid billing practices
throughout the nation, though the defendants' had made public
representations that its fraudulent billing practices were in
the past.  In addition, Pediatrix announced that the US
Attorney's Office anticipated making a document and information
request, within the following few weeks.

For more details, contact Fred Taylor Isquith, Gregory M.
Nespole, Michael J. Miske, George Peters or Derek Behnke by
Mail: 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by Phone:
(800) 575-0735 by E-mail: classmember@whafh.com or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence  
should make reference to Pediatrix.


RECOTON CORPORATION: Wolf Haldenstein Files Stock Lawsuit in FL
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the Middle
District of Florida, on behalf of all persons who purchased the
common stock of Recoton Corporation (OTB: RCOTQ.PK) (Nasdaq:
RCOTQ) between November 15, 1999 and August 19, 2002, inclusive,
against certain officers and directors of the Company.

The complaint alleges that the Company violated federal
securities laws by falsely assuring the marketplace that it had
adopted a "strategic business plan designed to improve operating
efficiencies," as required by the Company's creditors as a
condition to restructuring the Company's debt.  Beginning in
November 1999, the Company repeatedly reaffirmed that it had
implemented its "strategic plan" and emphasized its success at
improving operating efficiencies.  The Company also stressed
that it had established "a more incentive-based method of
compensation" and "stringent financial controls."

On May 8, 2002, however, the Company partially disclosed that it
"did not anticipate the full implementation of the strategic
plan until the end of May 2002."  On August 19, 2002, the end of
the class period, the Company revealed information showing that,
contrary to its earlier statements on awarding only incentive-
based compensation to management, bonuses had been paid to
executives in advance of the Company's achievement of certain
goals.  The Company also revealed that it had granted additional
price concessions to customers "on products previously
purchased."

The complaint alleges that defendants materially overstated
revenue during the class period and failed to timely take
material write-downs of inventory.

For more details, contact Fred Taylor Isquith, Gregory M.
Nespole, Michael J. Miske, George Peters or Derek Behnke by
Mail: 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by Phone:
(800) 575-0735 by E-mail: classmember@whafh.com or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.whafh.com. All e-mail correspondence  
should make reference to Recoton.


RECOTON CORPORATION: Marc Henzel Files Stock Lawsuit in M.D. FL
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices of Marc S. Henzel initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the Middle
District of Florida, on behalf of purchasers of the securities
of Recoton Corporation (NasdaqNM:RCOTQ) between November 15,
1999 through August 19, 2002, inclusive.  The suit names as
defendants:

     (1) Arnold Kezsbom,

     (2) Robert L. Borchardt,

     (3) Stuart Mont, and

     (4) Tracy Clark

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 November 15, 1999 and
August 19, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of
Recoton securities.

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

     (i) that a "strategic plan," which was required by its
         creditors, was not implemented to improve efficiencies,
         increase future profitability, improve cash flow, and
         increase return on assets;

    (ii) that company executives received bonuses prior to
         meeting corporate financial goals contrary to the
         Company's statements that Recoton was moving to a more
         "incentive-based method of compensation;"

   (iii) that the Company's reported financial results that were
         in violation of generally accepted accounting
         principles (GAAP) because of material inventory
         overstatements, and improper revenue recognition
         tactics.

On August 19, 2002, the Company revealed that it had granted
additional price concessions to customers "on products
previously purchased."  On this news, shares of Recoton stock
fell 15% to close at $1.76 per share, a far cry from the Class
Period high of over $20 per share.

For more details, contact Marc S. Henzel, Esq. By Mail: 273
Montgomery Ave, Suite 202 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-2808, by Phone:
888-643-6735 or 610-660-8000, by Fax: 610-660-8080, by E-mail:
Mhenzel182@aol.com or visit the firm's Website:
http://members.aol.com/mhenzel182.  


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                        *********


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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