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             C L A S S   A C T I O N   R E P O R T E R

             Friday, March 26, 1999, Vol. 1, No. 36

                           Headlines

CHS ELECTRONICS: Shepherd & Geller Amend Shareholder Complaint
CHS ELECTRONICS: Kaplan Kilsheimer File Complaint in Florida
COMPAQ COMPUTER: Milberg Weiss Files Complaint in Texas
EMERGING MEXICO: Fairness Hearing Postponed to April 6, 1999
HANDICAPPED PARKING: Carolina Residents Sue to End $5 Permit Fee

HOLOCAUST VICTIMS: World Jewish Congress Rejects French Bank Plan
MOTOROLA: Cancer Theorists Predicted to Push for Research Funding
OKLAHOMA INMATES: Request for Receiver to Oversee Medical Care
PARTY CITY: Kantrowitz Goldhamer Files Complaint in New Jersey
PATHOGENESIS CORP.: Cohen Milstein Files Complaint in Washington

PATHOGENESIS CORP.: Wolf Popper Files Complaint in Washington
SAFESKIN: Lockridge Grindal Files Complaint in California
SPRINT: Girard & Green Files "Casual Caller Rate" Class Action
TOBACCO LITIGATION: Florida Flight Attendants Settlement Upheld

                           *********

CHS ELECTRONICS: Shepherd & Geller Amend Shareholder Complaint
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shepherd & Geller, LLC, announced that it filed an Amended
Complaint against CHS Electronics Corp. (NYSE:HS) in United
States District Court, Southern District of Florida.  The lawsuit
is on behalf of all purchasers of CHS common stock during the  
period December 18, 1997 through March 22, 1999.

The Amended Complaint charges that CHS Electronics and certain of
its officers  and directors violated the federal securities laws
by submitting false  financial statements and false earnings. The
complaint alleges that:

  a) Defendants' financial statements were based, in large
     measure, upon forged  documents and false customer orders;

  b) throughout the Class Period, defendants  had inaccurately
     described the amount of its vendor rebates;

  c) throughout the  Class Period, defendants had improperly kept
     certain assets (primarily accounts  receivable) off its
     balance sheet;

  d) CHS routinely shifted inventory from  country to country in
     Europe to avoid the 18% value added tax;

  e) a CHS  executive officer who was involved in CHS' scheme to
     avoid value added taxes  had fled the country under fear of
     indictment;

  f) as a result of the value  added tax avoidance, CHS'
     operating profit margins were overstated;

  g) throughout the Class Period, as a result of the foregoing,
     CHS's assets and  earnings were materially overstated; and

  h) as a result of the foregoing, CHS  was performing far worse
     than publicly represented and its operating  performance
     measures (particularly its accounts receivable/turnover
     ratio) were  materially overstated.

When certain of this information was disclosed on  February 24,
1999 and March 22, 1999, the price of CHS collapsed, and
currently  trades far below its Class Period highs.


CHS ELECTRONICS: Kaplan Kilsheimer File Complaint in Florida
------------------------------------------------------------
Kaplan, Kilsheimer & Fox LLP has filed a  Class Action lawsuit
against CHS ELECTRONICS, INC. (NYSE: HS) and certain of its
officers and directors in the United States  District Court for
the Southern District of Florida.  The suit is brought on behalf
of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired
the  common stock of CHS between June 19, 1998 and March 19,
1999, inclusive.

The lawsuit charges CHS and several of its top officers with
violations of  Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule l0b-5  promulgated thereunder.  The
complaint alleges that defendants issued a series  of false and
misleading statements concerning the Company's earnings, revenue  
and future prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges that
the Company  knowingly or recklessly overstated the Company's
vendor rebates from its  European subsidiaries for the second,
third and fourth quarters of 1998, which  had the effect of
inflating the Company's earnings.  The complaint alleges that  
defendants concealed the overstatements in order to inflate the
share price to  assure the success of an overseas acquisition
campaign and to secure listing on  the New York Stock Exchange.  
Upon the announcement of the truth concerning the  vendor rebates
for the affected quarters, the Company's stock price plunged  
nearly 35% on extraordinarily heavy trading volume.


COMPAQ COMPUTER: Milberg Weiss Files Complaint in Texas
-------------------------------------------------------
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach commenced a class action
lawsuit on March 24,  1999, in the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas, on behalf of all purchasers
of the common stock of Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ) between
January 27, 1999, and February 25, 1999,  inclusive.

The complaint charges Compaq and certain officers with violations
of Sections  10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 as well as Rule 10b-5  promulgated thereunder. The complaint
alleges that defendants issued a series  of false statements and
failed to disclose material facts throughout the Class  Period
concerning the Company's operating results and its future
prospects.  Because of the issuance of a series of false and
misleading statements, the  price of Compaq common stock was
artificially inflated during the Class Period.  Prior to the
disclosure of the adverse facts described above certain Compaq  
insiders sold hundreds of thousands of shares of Compaq common
stock to the  unsuspecting investing public at artificially
inflated prices.


EMERGING MEXICO: Fairness Hearing Postponed to April 6, 1999
------------------------------------------------------------
A federal judge has postponed the hearing to consider the
fairness of the settlement to two class  action lawsuits pending
against The Emerging Mexico Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") (NYSE: MEF)
and its Board of Directors until April  6, 1999 at 10:30 a.m.  
The hearing was been scheduled for today, but the judge advised
the parties he is not available on that day for the hearing.  

The Fund's special stockholders' meeting to be held for the
purpose of voting  on the proposed liquidation and dissolution of
the Fund remains scheduled for  March 30, 1999. The Fund's
liquidation is subject to approval of the Fund's  stockholders
and court approval of the resolution of the lawsuits. If  
stockholders approve the Fund's liquidation at the meeting and
the settlement  of the claims is approved, the Fund's shares of
common stock will cease to  trade on the New York Stock Exchange
shortly thereafter.  The Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end
management investment company.  The investment objective of the
Fund is long-term capital appreciation through investment
primarily in Mexican equity securities.

Santander Management Inc. is  the Fund's investment adviser and
Gestion Santander Mexico, S.A. de C.V. serves  as the Fund's sub-
advisor in Mexico.    


HANDICAPPED PARKING: Carolina Residents Sue to End $5 Permit Fee
----------------------------------------------------------------
A group of handicapped North Carolina residents has filed a
lawsuit against the state in an effort to eliminate a $5 fee
officials charge for a plastic placard that gives permission to
use handicapped- only parking  spaces, United Press International
reports. The class-action suit filed earlier this month in Wake
County Superior Court, says the fee violates the 1991 Americans
With Disabilities Act. Robert Owens, coordinator of the North
Carolina office of the Americans With Disabilities Act, said the
fee is reasonable, considering the time and material that goes
into making the placards, which are good for five years.


HOLOCAUST VICTIMS: World Jewish Congress Rejects French Bank Plan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Joan Gralla, writing for Reuters, reports from New York that
apowerful U.S. Jewish  group that says it speaks for all Jewish
victims of the Holocaust, regardless  of what country they came
from, on Wednesday rejected a compensation plan  announced by
French banks.    

The French Banking Association's (AFB) decision to move ahead
with its  compensation plan, after an earlier version was
scuttled by the French  government, was assailed by the World
Jewish Congress, the New York City-based  group that has insisted
on involving representatives of the international  Jewish
community, as well as French Jewish groups, to help craft any  
settlement.    

"This unilateral announcement by the French banks is a betrayal
of the  memory of the Holocaust victims," Elan Steinberg, WJC
executive director, told  Reuters by telephone.    

The French government last week pressured the French banks to
drop an  earlier version of their plan because a government panel
probing the looting  and restitution of Holocaust assets
threatened to resign, saying its work would  be made redundant.    
New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi, heeding the WJC's advice,
on  Wednesday urged the French banks to open their talks not only
to world Jewish  groups but to U.S. lawyers who are suing the
banks over Holocaust claims. The  plaintiff attorneys believe
they would have to approve any deal for the French  banks to be
shielded from lawsuits.    

"I encourage the French banks to talk with representatives of the
world  Jewish community and the class action attorneys who
represent survivors. Only  real negotiations can produce a real
settlement," Hevesi said in prepared  remarks.    

The WJC has said it will fight a planned merger between Societe
Generale   and Paribas , and a $37 billion bid by Banque
Nationale de  Paris  to buy both those rivals.  And it plans to
tell Hevesi, who in June will chair a meeting of public  finance
officers on French banks, that French banks "believe they can  
circumvent and avoid their moral responsibility."    

According to a March 10 draft, the AFB plan was drawn up after
consulting  with the Representative Council of Jewish
Institutions (Crif), a French  umbrella group, but that phrase
was not in Wednesday's release. "So they can't  even claim they
negotiated with the French Jewish leadership," Steinberg said.    
The French banks' new plan calls on them to make an unspecified
"significant  financial contribution" to a memorial fund. So-
called "heirless" assets, bank  accounts and other valuables of
people whose entire families perished in Nazi  death camps, also
would be turned over to the new fund, but the WJC faulted the  
plan, saying there was no sign the money would be controlled by
Holocaust  survivors.  The French compensation plan also obliges
the AFB to turn over by May 15 to the government investigation
panel the lists of dormant accounts and other  assets of people
who were considered Jewish under Nazi and Vichy laws.  This is a
different approach than the one used by Swiss banks, whose
dormant  accounts are being independently audited. The WJC
faulted the French banks for not subjecting themselves to the
same tough standards.


MOTOROLA: Cancer Theorists Predicted to Push for Research Funding
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Communications Today suggests that although there won't be any
U.S. Supreme Court review of a four-year-old decision in a  
class-action suit against Motorola and other handset
manufacturers that sought to link certain cancers to cellular
phone use, keep your eyes on Capitol Hill, where advocates of the
cancer theory have found a sympathetic ear there in Rep. Edward
Markey (D-Mass.), who has pushed before for government funding to  
investigate the health risks.


OKLAHOMA INMATES: Request for Receiver to Oversee Medical Care
--------------------------------------------------------------
A study of 41 inmate deaths within the Oklahoma Department  of
Corrections showed that 24  percent were avoidable, according to
a  Tulsa  attorney who is asking a federal  court to take control
of the department's  medical operations.  Tulsa attorney Louis
Bullock cited the study in a brief filed Monday in U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District in Muskogee.  Bullock represents
inmates in a class-action lawsuit, Battle vs. Anderson, which in
the past has brought federal control of the state's prison system
and required millions of dollars  to bring the system into
constitutional compliance.    

The Oklahoma Board of Corrections last month postponed signing a
settlement  agreement to bring an end to the suit, saying it
wanted to get a financial  commitment from lawmakers.    However,
Tulsa World reports, officials with the Governor's Office and
lawmakers said they had a  problem with the settlement agreement
because it names Bullock as a monitor and  has no definite price
tag.    

In his filing Monday, Bullock asked U.S. District Judge Michael
Burrage to appoint a receiver for the medical operations of the
prison system, saying an  emergency exists.  The receiver shall
immediately address the needed remedies, have the  authority to
hire staff, oversee the clinical practice of staff, establish  
delivery systems and protocols and provide systems of quality
improvement, the  brief says.  

Tulsa World relates that the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
contracted with the Oklahoma  Foundation for Medical Quality to
review inmate deaths between July 1997 and  1998. The
Foundation's Web site states that it was founded as a nonprofit  
organization in 1972 as a federally contracted peer-review
organization. It  also holds a contract with the state to review
Oklahoma's Medicaid program.  Of the 41 inmate deaths studied,
the group determined that 10 -- or 24  percent -- were avoidable.
The deaths were initially called "avoidable," a term  that later
was changed to "possibly avoidable," according to a footnote that  
did not explain the reason for the terminology change.    

"These results indicate that nearly one quarter of the inmate
deaths came  about following serious deficiencies in medical
care, which, if corrected,  could have saved the person's life,"
Bullock's brief alleges. "This is  unacceptable under any
standard of care."    The brief notes that during the time frame
of the study, there were actually  60 deaths, but after the
department received the results of the first 41  deaths, it chose
not to complete the review. Bullock's brief does not state why  
the study was discontinued.    

Ken Lackey, Gov. Frank Keating's chief of staff, said it may be
necessary to get a second opinion before accepting the study.    
"It does require a little independent investigation," Lackey
said. "It may  not be the only evaluation. Perhaps there may be
other ways to do things."  

However, Bullock's brief claims that the report may actually
understate the loss of life due to inadequate care.  One inmate
died from an infection three  days after a dental procedure, the
brief says.  The inmate had no follow-up care or antibiotics, but
the review said the inmate's death was unavoidable.  Inmates are
victims of needless suffering as a result of improper or a lack  
of medical treatment, the brief alleges.    One inmate at an
Oklahoma private facility that contracts with the  department to
house state inmates suffered needlessly as a result of a kidney  
stone, the brief says.  The inmate, who had a history of kidney
stones, in June reported severe  kidney pain.  A nurse did
nothing. Later, the inmate was seen by a physician who conducted  
no examination but diagnosed it as an enlarged prostate.  Later,
the inmate returned to medical personnel, reporting that the
stone had moved and was interfering with his ability to urinate.    
Two nurses, after speaking to a doctor by phone, tried to
dislodge it, "which is a medical procedure which they did not
have a license to perform,"  the brief alleges.  First they used
a soft catheter, then they attempted to dislodge the stone  with
a hard catheter.  The inmate was not given pain medication.    
Badly bleeding, the inmate was taken to the hospital, where the
stone was  dislodged.  Once he returned to prison, he was not
given pain medication.  The inmate later went back to the
hospital, where surgery was done to remove scar tissue caused by
the original procedure.  Once returned to prison, he was denied
medication for four days.    

"This suffering was wholly avoidable," the brief alleges.    
Psychiatric and psychological care is "virtually nonexistent,"
the brief  alleges.    The department's medical system is
inadequately organized with little  oversight, the brief says.    
The department has no chief medical officer and no central office
employee  qualified to oversee medical care for 21,000 inmates.    
The department does not analyze the pattern of deaths at each
facility in  order to identify weakness in the system or assess
care quality, the brief  alleges.    "There is no peer review,"
the brief alleges. "This is in spite of the fact  that the
defendants know that the physicians working within the prisons
are  frequently poorly trained and are ineligible for a license
to practice any  place other than within a state institution."    
Staffing patterns call for 25 physicians, an inadequate number to
serve  15,000 inmates in 17 prisons. Of the 25 posts, nine are
vacant, the brief says.    The department has inadequate staff,
facilities, resources and supplies, the  brief alleges.    It
also cites inadequate access to specialty care, chronic disease
care and  continuity of care.    

Legislative leaders, the governor and others, Tulsa World
relates, are trying to determine how  much the settlement
agreement will cost, Lackey said.


PARTY CITY: Kantrowitz Goldhamer Files Complaint in New Jersey
--------------------------------------------------------------
A lawsuit has been filed by the law firm of  Kantrowitz,
Goldhamer & Graifman, of Montvale, New Jersey and two other firms  
on behalf of a Plaintiff and a proposed class of former
shareholders of Party  City Corporation (NASDAQ: PCTY) and its
Chief Executive Officer for the class  period July 23, 1998
through March 19, 1999, in the U.S.  District Court of New Jersey
where Party City Corporation maintains its U.S.  headquarters.

The complaint alleges that Party City and its CEO violated
Sections 10(b) and  20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and Rule 10b-5 promulgated  thereunder, by making false and
misleading statements concerning the company's  financial
condition and outstanding loan obligations. As a result of these  
alleged violations, the price of common shares of Party City was
artificially  inflated during the Class Period.


PATHOGENESIS: Cohen Milstein Files Complaint in Washington
----------------------------------------------------------
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C., on March 24, 1999,
filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the  
Western District of Washington on behalf of purchasers of the
common stock of  PathoGenesis Corp. (Nasdaq:PGNS) during the
period between January 26, 1999  through March 22, 1999
inclusive.

The complaint charges PathoGenesis and certain officers of the
Company during  the relevant time period with violations of
Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the  Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The complaint alleges that defendants issued a  series of
materially false and misleading statements regarding the market
for  its principal product tobramycin solution for inhalation
(TOBI). On March 22,  1999, the Company announced that sales for
the first quarter would only be  about $10 million, and that it
expected to report a net loss of $0.30 per share  versus
consensus estimates of a $0.20 profit. In addition, the Company
said  sales for the year would likely be in the $62 - $63 million
range as opposed to  $90 - $100 million. As a result of this
announcement, the stock price fell on  March 23rd by over 22
points, from approximately $34 per share to $12 per share  on
volume of over 22 million shares.


PATHOGENESIS CORP.: Wolf Popper Files Complaint in Washington
-------------------------------------------------------------
PathoGenesis Corporation (Nasdaq: PGNS) and  two of its senior
officers have been named in a securities fraud lawsuit filed  on
March 24, 1999 in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Washington.   The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all persons or
entities who purchased  PathoGenesis common stock during the
period January 26, 1999 through March 22, 1999 inclusive.

PathoGenesis is primarily in the business of marketing a drug,
tradenamed TOBI, to treat cystic fibrosis.

The lawsuit alleges that defendants' January 25, 1999
announcement that PathoGenesis had achieved net revenues of $17.8
million during the fourth  quarter of 1998, almost exclusively
from the sale of TOBI, was materially false and misleading.  
Defendants informed investors on that announcement that fourth  
quarter sales growth was "due to excellent acceptance of TOBI by
the cystic  fibrosis community."  Defendants reiterated their
positive comments about  product demand throughout the first
quarter of 1999, and guided analysts to  revenue estimates of
$90-100 million for 1999.  On the basis of the company's  public
statements as to the acceptance of its product by the cystic
fibrosis  community, fourth quarter 1998 financial results, and
company guidance,  analysts and investors were projecting that
PathoGenesis would achieve net  revenues in 1999 of $90 million.

Defendants knew or were reckless in failing to know that fourth
quarter  financial results were not due to excellent acceptance
of TOBI by the cystic  fibrosis community, but rather due to
defendants' efforts to induce PathoGenesis' distributors to
accept greater shipments of the drug than  necessary to meet
customer demand.  Defendants knew or were reckless in failing  to
know that demand for TOBI had peaked and that sales for the
product in  future quarters would be dramatically below that
achieved in the fourth  quarter.  Defendants' knowledge, and
basis for obtaining that knowledge, was  through direct contact
with the limited number of distributors for the  company's
product and the 113 cystic fibrosis treatment centers.

Defendants belatedly announced on March 22, 1999 that sales for
the first  quarter of 1999 would be only approximately $10
million -- or 50% below  estimates that were based on defendants'
own public statements -- precisely  because its distributors had
accepted product in the fourth quarter of 1998  that was not then
necessary to meet customer demand. On March 23, 1999,  
PathoGenesis common stock fell approximately 66%, from $34 to $12
a share, on  this announcement. The Complaint filed in the class
action alleges that defendants were motivated  to commit the
fraud, among other things, (i) to create the perception of demand  
for its product among healthcare professionals, and therefore
drive future  growth, and (ii) to sell shares at inflated prices.


SAFESKIN: Lockridge Grindal Files Complaint in California
---------------------------------------------------------
Lockridge Grindal Nauen & Holstein P.L.L.P. filed a class action
complaint in the United States District Court for the  Southern
District of California on behalf of a Class of persons who
purchased  or otherwise acquired securities issued by Safeskin
Corporation (Nasdaq: SFSK) in the open market during the period
October 29,  1998 through March 11, 1999.

The Complaint charges that throughout the Class Period,
defendants violated the  U.S. securities laws by issuing
materially false and misleading statements and  by omitting
material facts required to be disclosed so as to make the  
statements issued not materially false and misleading.
Specifically, the  complaint alleges that during the Class
Period, defendants knowingly or  recklessly overstated Safeskin's
results of operations and net income for the  third and fourth
quarters of fiscal year 1998 and misled the investing public  as
to the Company's opportunities for fiscal 1999, by "stuffing the
channel,"  i.e., selling to its distributors more product than
they wanted or could  reasonably sell and thereby giving the
false appearance that the Company's  business was continuing to
grow at record levels.


SPRINT: Girard & Green Files "Casual Caller Rate" Class Action
--------------------------------------------------------------
Girard & Green, LLP, commenced a class action lawsuit in the
United States District Court for the District of Kansas, on
behalf of all Sprint subscribers who were charged  Sprint's
"casual caller" rates (in some cases as high as $2.99 for a one-
minute  call) instead of the lower rates which Sprint advertises
and which subscribers  expect to be charged.

The lawsuit alleges that this practice by Sprint violates  the
Telecommunications Act of 1934. Sprint has one set of rates for
subscriber direct dialing, including its widely  promoted "Sprint
Sense Anytime" and "Sprint Unlimited Weekend" Calling Plans,  
which typically charge customers approximately $0.10 per minute
for most  interstate calls. Sprint also has another, much higher
set of rates it charges  non-subscribers or "casual callers":
$0.40 per minute, plus a surcharge of $2.45 for every call.
Sprint charges these rates to non-subscribers who choose  to
place their calls over the Sprint network. Sprint, however, has
charged many  of its own subscribers the higher non-subscriber
rates for calls they placed  with ordinary "one-plus" dialing.

The FCC recently found that a similar  practice, perpetrated by
MCI, violated the Telecommunications Act. The plaintiff in the
class action seeks to recover damages on behalf of all  persons
who were customers of record for telephone lines presubscribed to  
Sprint as the Primary Interexchange Carrier, and who were charged
non- subscriber rates or surcharges by Sprint for direct-dialed
calls placed on  those lines.


TOBACCO LITIGATION: Florida Flight Attendants Settlement Upheld
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tracy Fields, writing for the Associated Press, reports from
Miami, Florida, that a state appeals court on Wednesday upheld a
$349 million class  action settlement to nonsmoking flight
attendants who sued cigarette makers  claiming that working on
smoky airplanes made them sick.    

The settlement was first proposed in October 1997 as defense
lawyers for the  tobacco companies were presenting their case.
Circuit Judge Robert P. Kaye  approved it in February 1998, but
some of the flight attendants initially  objected.    

"All of the class representatives approved, and strongly
endorsed, the  settlement," Judge Robert Shevin wrote in the
ruling filed Wednesday at the 3rd  District Court of Appeal.    
The appeal judges said the settlement was "fair, adequate, and
reasonable."    

"The objectors' complaint that they must now bring individual
lawsuits does  not render the settlement inadequate," Shevin
wrote.    

The deal calls for $300 million to fund a foundation to sponsor
research on  diseases suffered by the attendants. The rest of the
money goes for attorney  fees and costs.  The settlement provides
no money for individual flight attendants, but  allows them to
use evidence from the trial in their individual cases.  The
settlement also relieves them of the burden of proving cigarette
smoking  caused their illnesses.    

Flight attendants sued the nation's four largest cigarette makers   
Philip  Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard   
saying secondhand  smoke on flights gave them lung cancer and
other diseases. Smoking on domestic  flights was banned in 1990.



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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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