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To: rich evans who wrote (580)	3/5/1998 9:42:00 PM
From: LPasko	Respond to of 1250

I still haven't seen the actual complaint, but there are a few things to mention. The cases are brought in federal court in Massachusetts. The court is known as a District Court, and the judge will be asked to rule on questions of law, such as whether the complaint creates an inference of fraud strong enough to proceed to trial. If so, the case proceeds to trial by jury. If not it is dismissed, but the judge often gives the lawyers an opportunity to amend the complaint to see whether they can do better the second time around. The vast majority of cases that eventually survive a motion to dismiss settle, and never see a jury. The Massachusetts court follows the law set down by Congress, by the Supreme Court, and by the First Circuit Court Of Appeals (whole rulings apply to several New England states). Traditionally, courts within the First Circuit are among the toughest on these cases, but strong complaints can and do survive. The Company here has made a disturbing announcement to be sure. Sometimes, the Company is just being cautious, and the bad news winds up being much ado about nothing. Other times, the first bad news is the tip of the iceberg, and is followed by restatements, revelations, resignations etc. As I said, I haven't seen the complaint here or heard any further facts, so it would be premature for me to advance any opinions or form any judgments on the merits.