RAPID-AMERICAN CORP UNIT PURSUES FRAUD SUIT
<Rapid-American Corp> said its Faberge
Inc subsidiary was granted approval by federal court to pursue
its 11 mln dlr fraud suit against <Porterfield Buying Unit> and
its partners.
    Faberge said the U.S. District Court, Southern District of
New York, reinstituted the suit against Porterfield and its
partners Samuel Wyman and Grace Porterfield, vacating an
earlier court decision dismissing the suit.
    The suit, filed in 1982, charges Porterfield with
overcharging commissions and for billing commericals that were
promised but never aired, according to the company. Faberge
alleges that Porterfield used fraudulent invoices and schemes
which netted it more than 3,500,000 dlrs in illegal profits.
    The suit, brought under the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), was dismissed earlier because
the court ruled it did not meet certain criteria of the RICO
Act. But an Appeals Court sent the suit back to district court
based on two related decisions involving the RICO Act, Faberge
said.
 Reuter
