The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 31

31 DOW JMdo Also Inside Classified 38 Learning 32 THE BOSTON GLOBE SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1993 Creditors move against Gh. 68 suitor By James L. Franklin GLOBE STAFF Consumers seek to force chain into bankruptcy scheduled payments on a $19 million loan. Feltner, who personally guaranteed the loan, has said the suit "is being resolved." Chapter 11 petitions were filed May 7 by creditors seeking payment of $3.3 million owed by Krypton Broadcasting of Fort Pierce which operates Ch. 34 in-West Palm Beach, and $7.98 million owed by Krypton Broadcasting of Jacksonville, which operates WNFT (Ch.

47). The petitions were first reported by the Palm Beach Review, a business paper. Russell H. Kippe, of Nashville, the lead attorney for the petitioners, said the creditors are companies "that have supplied programming under TV license agreements. CHANNEL 68, Page 32 Church officials did not respond to requests for comment on the status of Feltner's offer.

Church sources said Krypton Corp. is the only remaining bidder for Channel 68, which Feltner has said he would make into an all-movie station. In a telephone interview, Feltner said he continued to talk to the church through its broker, Media Venture Partners of Washington. "This business in Florida doesn't change anything," he said. "I still like Channel 68.

The only problem is that they have lost some cable systems, and we are trying to see what we can do about that." The bankruptcy reorganization petitions are not the only suits affecting Feltner's TV operations. Internationale Nederlanden Bank NV of New York which in 1988 bankrolled his purchase of WTVX (Ch. 34) in West Palm Beach, Fla. sued Feltner last year for failing to make The New York businessman who wants to buy WQTV-TV (Ch. 68) faces new financial troubles after creditors asked a federal bankruptcy court in Florida last week to force two of his three television stations into Chapter 11 reorganization.

But Elvin Feltner, head of Krypton said the petition would not affect his offer for Channel 68, which is owned by the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Church sources have said the cash-strapped church is eager to conclude the sale before its June 7 annual meeting. Feltner said this week that he had been told the same. Joanne Ball Artis GLOBE STAFF Strength against strati tfth NordicTrack sued by rival Soloflex By Mary Sit GLOBE STAFF Turn inannfantnrorc nf mliaplo monmnaa ara ahnnt Trt hartlo It nut 1T1 A group of consumers organized by the state's attorney general's office yesterday sought to force the Boston Scandals furniture chain into involuntary bankruptcy. A petition was filed by the group in US Bankruptcy Court in Boston asking that a liquidation sale by secured creditors of the Billerica company be halted.

The group wants to make sure that some proceeds from the sale go to customers who have paid for furniture and not received it, or who made deposits on purchases. Judge Carol Kenner allowed the sale to take continue, but ordered that "all further proceeds from the sale be placed in escrow," according to Robert A Sherman, chief of the consumer protection division of Attorney General Scott Harshbarger's qfice. As many as 800 customers allegedly paid about $385,000 for furniture they have not received, according to Harshbarger's office. In recent weeks the attorney general's office received scores of calls from consumers who had bought furniture during the liquidation sale. "If we did nothing right now it's clear there would be zero dollars for consumers," Sherman said.

"But by seeking to put it in bankruptcy, it imposes court oversight on the sale and. consumers a chance they otherwise wouldn't have had" to recoup their money. The attorney general's office advises those who used a credit card for a deposit at Scandals to contact their, credit card company in writing requesting a charge-back because the furniture was not delivered. Under federal law, credit card companies have procedures to reimburse consumers for goods and services not received. Those who paid by check should request a stop payment order from their bank.

"And if anyone goes into Scandals now," Sherman said, "it should be strictly on a cash and carry basis." Scandals has storesfin the Back Bay, Burlington, Saugus and Manchester, N.H. The company could not be reached for comment. the courts after Soloflex sued its val NordicTrack for false advertising, trade libel and trademark $: Yrfc' i Jf oir-s I iit 1 I i 3 1 'I- Iff 7 fc I llUlUIVliaUk) TT 1111.11 IU -'J CML Co. in Acton, said yesterday it is baffled by the suit, which targets NordicTrack isokinetic strength training machines called the Nordic- Flex Gold. The machine, introduced in 1991, retails for $1,299.

At lacim aro enmp nf tVip advertis ing methods used by Nordiclrack. Soloflex, based in Portland, said in its suit that NordicTrack has infringed on its trademark bv usine same anatomical drawing of a man by Leonardo da Vinci that Solo- flex has used. "It is considered to be in the public domain," said Jim Bostic, president and chief executive officer at NordicTrack. Soloflex argues that even though a device is well known and in public use, once a business uses that device as an identity for its goods, then it becomes a trademark, explained Charles D. McClung, an attorney representing Soloflex.

Soloflex said NordicTrack is en-' gaging in false advertising in 17 areas, including claims that Nordic-Flex machines provide up to 70 percent faster muscle build than Soloflex and 28 percent faster strength increase than Soloflex. Both Soloflex and NordicTrack use similar slogans in its adverting, AP PHOTO US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor chats ith Japanese trade minister Yoshlro Mori at the end of yesterday's talks. Japanese offer boosts trade talks By Michael Ellis REUTERS Major music firms are girding to battle CD duplication plan ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Major music companies are opposing a plan by IBM and Blockbuster Entertainment to make systems enabling retailers to duplicate copies of compact disks whenever a customer orders one. Executives at Warner Music Group, Sony USA and MCA Music Entertainment said yesterday they were not consulted before the announcement of the IBM-Blockbuster venture earlier this week. Some of the executives noted that copying their recordings without permission is illegal.

Without wide support from the music industry, the IBM-Blockbuster venture could wind up making fancy new gadgets with little or nothing to use them for. International Business Machines and Blockbuster Entertainment the video and music retailer in Fort Lauderdale, announced their plan Tuesday. With such systems, stores would never run out of popular recordings and would have ready access to older or obscure recordings without maintaining a big inventory of CDs. Chairman Al Teller of MCA Music Entertainment Group said MCA was already in the early stages of developing its own electronic delivery service and hopes to get support for a common industry standard so others could also use it CD, Page 32 DUVll Ml kilW JH HIV WW body's potential." Bostic said that phrase is so common in describing exercise equipment that it has al-, most become a cliche. But McClung, the Soloflex attorney, said the commercials are so similar viewers could easily become confused which they were watching.

Soloflex is asking for $25 million in punitive damages. Since Soloflex first came on the to say that the GATT talks were pretty dormant," Sir Leon Brittan, EC trade Commissioner, told reporters. The main goal of the meeting was to get an agreement on market access that would include lower industrial tariffs and rules for trade in services such as banking, Canadian Trade Minister Michael Wilson said. Such a deal would form part of a wider package of trade measures being negotiated by some 114 countries participating in the Uruguay Round, which has been dragging on since 1986. Japanese Trade and Industry Minister Yoshiro Mori offered to eliminate tariffs on about 700 items and cut tariffs on an additional 70 products.

Tariff cuts on chemical products, non-ferrous metals, paer and pulp, electronics and textiles were included in the package. US Trade Representative Mickey Kan tor said he was pleased by the Japanese offer. The ministers will meet at least two more times before the Tokyo summit, on June 2 in Paris and June 24 in Japan. Besides the tariffs, the talks focused on liberalizing access to Japan's financial-services sector, including banking, insurance and investment Kantor would not comment on whether Japan had come up with a better offer in this area. Senior officials from the US and the EC said this week that Japan has many of the world's largest banks but still has major barriers to trade in financial services.

Repeated deadlines for wrapping up an overall Uruguay Round agreement have been missed even though leaders of the G-7 vowed at their last two annual summits to' conclude the negotiations successfully. The G-7 group of industrialized nations includes Canada, Germany, Britain, the United States, Japan, Italy and France. TORONTO Negotiators for major industrial nations said they moved world' trade talks into high gear yesterday after Japan offered to cut or eliminate import tariffs on about 770 products. The offer came at a meeting in Toronto of trade ministers from the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Community, preparing for their bosses to meet at a summit of leading industrial nations in Tokyo in July. The ministers want a major breakthrough at the Tokyo summit in the six-year Uruguay Round of global trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The United States and the EC had been complaining Japan wa9 not doing enough to help save the troubled talks. "In the beginning of this year, it's fair market in lavs, it nas sow uw.uuu machines and had $-126 million in sales. A fully-equipped, delivered machine costs $1,500. NordicTrack, which makes other equipment besides this at-home strength training machine, has been on the market since 1988 and reported $206.8 million in sales in 191)2. Fleet rejected for N.Y.

bond job; bank's ties to official cited I 4 1 'r being part of the city's management group," said Thomas LaVelle, a Fleet SK)kesman. "But we look forward to continuing to serve in the selling group." Fleet officials "understand the city's concern with appearances," Raid LaVelle. "We are particularly with the recognition of our qualifications and the quality of our work." Holtzmijn said she welcomed Dinkins' decision. management group," Dinkins said in a letter to HolUman. "I have accepted this recommendation." Fleet Securities is "competent and qualified" to underwrite city bonds, Dinkins said.

Even so, city officials "have a fundamental obliga-' tion to avoid not only conflicts but the appearance of conflicts which could pose a threat to New York City's good reputation" In the capital markets, Dinkins said. 1 "We art disappointed with not Underwriting firms often earn millions of dollars by arranging the sale of tax-free city bonds to investors. Fleet is a subsidiary of Providence-based Fleet Financial Group which also owns Fleet Bunk. Fleet Financial is the nation's 14th-largest banking company, with $45 billion in assets. An ad hoc committee of city finance officials "recommended to me that Fleet Securities not be promoted from the selling group to the eluding a $913 million sale on Tuesday, Dinkins said.

In March, Fleet was one of 23 comanagers of a $750 million bond issue. City officials reviewed Fleet's position in the underwriting syndicate at the request of HolUman, who recommended the firm. The city Department of Investigation to investigating whether a loan of from Fleet Bank to Holtzmnn's political campaign swayed her to select the fimr JohnMcCorry HI.OOMIIKKG IH'SINESSNKWS NEW YORK New York City Mayor David Dinkins has decided that Fleet Securities will not be the underwriter of $4 billion In annual city bond Rules, citing the appearance of a conflict of Interest between Fleet and city comptroller Elizabeth HolUmun. Fleet will remain a member of a rroup of alwut lfiO securities firms thut sell, New, York City issues, in- DAVID PINKOS.