/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCR_Public/970909.MBX       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

               September 9, 1997, Vol. 1, No. 12

                        In This Issue

ABC INTERNATIONAL: Gets More Time to File Plan
BARNEY’S: New President and Chief Operating Officer Named
BARNEY’S: Deadline for Agreement with Dickson Extended
FEDERATED: Proposes $4.3 Million Settlement with Customers
L. LURIA: Rejects Nonresidential Real Property Leases

LEVITZ: Chapter 11 Filing Details
MONTGOMERY WARD: Cash Will Last Until Christmas
PCG Corp. I: Wants to Settle Suit with Former Employees
PELICAN PRINTING: Press, Other Assets Sold
TOLLYCRAFT: Troubled Company Evicted from Its Building

UNITED HEALTHCARE: Environmental Audit Necessary for Sale

                       -----

ABC INTERNATIONAL: Gets More Time to File Plan
-----------------------------------------------
ABC International Traders, Inc., was granted a deadline extension by Judge
Arthur M. Greenwald of the Central District of California and now has up
to and including October 13, 997, to file a plan of reorganization.  The
period to obtain acceptances was extended up to and including December 13,
1997.


BARNEY’S: New President and Chief Operating Officer Named
--------------------------------------------------------
Barney's, Inc., has appointed Thomas C. Shull, CEO of Meridian Ventures,
Inc., and former Macy's restructuring executive, as Barney’s president,
COO, and a member of its executive committee.  Shull replaces John
Brincko, who resigned from the Company last month.

Shull will be responsible for day-to-day operations and will report to the
company's executive committee, consisting of Phyllis, Gene, and Robert
Pressman and Tom Shull.

As executive vice president of R.H. Macy & Co., Inc., Shull helped
lead that company's aggressive turnaround program, creating $2 billion of
value in two years and preparing and implementing the company's business plan.

Shull is co-founder and CEO of Meridian Ventures, Inc., a retail venture
management and turnaround firm through which he served as acting chairman
and chief executive officer of specialty retailer Merry-Go-Round
Enterprises during its Chapter 11 proceedings in 1995.

"I look forward to working with Gene and Bob Pressman towards finalizing
the plan of reorganization for the Company's successful emergence from
Chapter 11," Shull said.


BARNEY’S: Deadline for Agreement with Dickson Extended
------------------------------------------------------
Barney’s, Inc., has until today to reach a definitive agreement with Hong
Kong retailer Dickson Concepts (International) Ltd. on its proposal to buy
a controlling stake in Barney’s.


FEDERATED: Proposes $4.3 Million Settlement with Customers
----------------------------------------------------------
Federated Department Stores, Inc., reached a tentative settlement to repay
about $4.3 million to credit-card customers who sued the company for
improperly collecting payments.

A U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has given preliminary
approval to the proposed settlement of the class-action lawsuit comprising
about 9,800 customers.


L. LURIA: Rejects Nonresidentail Real Property Leases
-----------------------------------------------------
L. Luria & Son, Inc., was granted authority by Judge Robert A. Mark of the
Southern District of Florida to reject certain leases. L. Luria has sold
inventory in its 20 stores and closed 14, whose leases are to be rejected
from August 13, 1997, when the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
Gordon Brothers Partners, Inc. is conducting going-out-of business sales
in the remaining stores and will pay rent for those stores through the end
of the sales.

On the date of completion of the GOB sales, Luria will surrender
possession of the stores to the respective landlords, as they are stores
that the company does not intend to maintain; it says the leases are in
default and they are a burden to the estate.


LEVITZ: Chapter 11 Filing Details
----------------------------------
Following are some salient points of the Levitz Furniture, Inc., Chapter 11
proceedings. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on September 5,
1997, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, before the Hon.
Joseph J. Farnan, Jr. Gregg M. Galardi and Sally M. Henry of Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP are acting as debtor's counsel. John "Jack" D.
MacLaughlin has been appointed U.S. trustee.

September  22, 1997, is the deadline for filing Schedules of Assets and
Liabilities, Statement of Financial Affairs, and List of Leases and
Executory Contracts. The Debtor’s Exclusive Period to propose a Plan
expires January 5, 1998; the solicitation period expires March 4, 1998.0

Levitz has secured $260 million in financing from B.T. Commercial Corp. to
restructure its debt and continue operations. It has total assets of $1.11
billion and liabilities $1.22 billion. There are over 1,000 creditors; the
largest unsecured creditors include First Bank, N.A., with senior
debentures of $8.4 million, Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A., with bonds at
$100 million, and Firstar Corporate Trust Services with bonds at $91
million.

Michael Bozic, a former Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive who revived
discount furniture retailer Hill Stores, was hired as chairman and CEO in
November 1995. He says "Operating under Chapter 11 protection will enable
the Company to continue the turnaround and repositioning efforts begun
last year.  It also affords us the opportunity to restructure the heavy
debt load which has been consuming our cash flow, and to reorganize and
strengthen our business operations." The company says it will continue to
fill all new orders and replenish inventory.


MONTGOMERY WARD: Cash Will Last Until Christmas
-----------------------------------------------
Montgomery Ward & Co. told its creditors it has enough cash to make it
through the make-or-break Christmas season.  Ward has $270 million in cash
on hand, enough to last through Christmas because about two-thirds of its
vendors have agreed to ship goods under normal trade terms, said John
Workman, the company's chief financial officer.

The company lost $365 million in the first half of this fiscal year, $221
million of that in the second quarter.

Workman also disclosed that Ward sold its 33 Lechmere and Home Image by
Lechmere stores and 11 Electric Avenue & More stores for just $160 million
even though the stores had annual revenues of $750 million and the assets
were worth between $300 million and $400 million.

Ward now operates 356 stores in 39 states but hopes during a hearing
October 31 to receive approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh in
Wilmington, Delaware, to close as many as 15 percent of those.


PCG Corp. I: Wants to Settle Suit with Former Employees
-------------------------------------------------------
PCG Corp. I would like to settle a class-action suit with former nonunion
hourly and salary employees who were terminated and have not been offered
employment by Hartmarx Corp., which purchased substantially all of PCG’s
assets. The plaintiffs sought payment in full of severance benefits worth
approximately $1.25 million.

The company agreed to a settlement in which it will pay -- on the date of
final approval of the settlement -- 66 2/3 percent of the allowed claims
of the class unless the bankruptcy estate is administratively insolvent at
that time. In the event the company is unable to return 100 percent of the
agreed amount, it will pay 60 percent of the allowed claims. Under the
terms of the agreement, it will immediately pay an aggregate $700,000 to
the class, and the balance within nine months.

A settlement hearing is scheduled for September 25 in New York, NY, before
Judge Prudence Carter Beatty.


PELICAN PRINTING: Press, Other Assets Sold
-------------------------------------------
Pelican Printing and Packaging Corp., which has been operating in
bankruptcy, will sell certain assets to NEI WebWorld for $1.15 million in
cash.

The assets to be sold include those used in Pelican’s web printing and
folding carton operations, chiefly an M-110 heatset web press.  NEI will
not acquire the sheet-feed printing operation and expects to resell the
folding carton assets.

In addition, Tom Keffer, former president of Pelican, will join NEI
WebWorld as vice president of marketing and business development and Lynn
Sabold, who was general manager of Pelican, will become NEI vice president
of sales.


TOLLYCRAFT: Troubled Company Evicted from Its Building
------------------------------------------------------
Tollycraft Yachts Corp., which emerged from Chapter 11 protection earlier
this year, has been evicted from its 180,000-square-foot building in
Kelso, Washington, for failure to pay rent that has mounted to $140,000.

Around 1990, Toll decided to focus on higher-priced luxury yachts, just as
a federal luxury tax went into effect that applied to the cost of new
boats above $100,000.  Hammered by a recession and the luxury tax, the
company's sales plunged from about $22 million in 1990 to less than half
that by 1993, when the company landed in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy court
proceeding.

In March 1996, a month after Tollycraft merged with Child Guard Corp. in
hopes of raising additional capital, company president D.R. Cooley
reported a $31 million backlog in orders.

It is unclear if the company will be able to return to full production.
And that, says Wayne Smith, president of the Northwest Yacht Brokers
Association, leaves a substantial hole in the Seattle marketplace.


UNITED HEALTHCARE: Environmental Audit Necessary for Sale
---------------------------------------------------------
United Healthcare System, Inc., would like Environmental Waste Management
Associates to perform a phase I environmental audit for real property it
owns in East Orange, New Jersey, and other property assets that it intends
to sell.



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

Troubled Company Reporter is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy
Creditors' Service, Inc., Princeton, NJ, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington
DC.  Debra Brennan and Rebecca A. Porter, Editors.

Copyright 1997.  All rights reserved.  This material is copyrighted and any
commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail
forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited
without prior written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be
reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR subscription rate is $575 for six months delivered via e-mail.
Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term
of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each.  For
subscription information, contact Christopher Beard at 301/951-6400.


               * * * End of Transmission * * *