November 92000

Insurance Defense Firm Seeks Funds From Partner Involved in
Chapter 11 Action

Turner & Boisseau, an insurance defense firm that filed chapter 11
in August, has proposed a settlement for its claims against senior
partner Eldon Boisseau, according to the Kansas City Star. 
The firm sought the return of money transferred to Boisseau in the year
preceding the chapter 11 filing. Under bankruptcy law, transfers to
insiders made during the 12 months before a bankruptcy filing can be
nullified.  Turner & Boisseau questioned the withdrawal of
$642,677 withdrawn by Boisseau including $174,850 in wages, $99,823 in
travel expenses, $67,089 in personal credit card expenses, and $228,757
in accrued but unpaid wages and other expenses.

Under the proposed settlement, Boisseau would give the firm his
one-third interest — said to be worth $350,000 — in an
office building in Wichita and provide 'detailed financial information'
to the bankruptcy court and to creditors in support of the
settlement.

Achieving a consensus, however, won't be easy.  The firm's main
creditor, former senior partner H. Lee Turner, plans to oppose the
settlement. Turner has alleged that Boisseau drained the firm of funds
'through excessive withdrawals of various kinds for his personal
benefit, to the detriment of debtor's creditors, and has engaged in
transactions that have brought [the firm] to its present state of
bankruptcy.'  Turner retired from Turner & Boisseau in 1992 and
sold his interest in the firm to Boisseau and another partner in
exchange for a deferred compensation package worth $6.2 million. Turner
claims the firm still owes him nearly $2 million, of which Boisseau
personally guaranteed 60 percent.

N.U. Pizza Holding Announces Reverse Stock Split

Due to N.U. Pizza Holding Corp.'s current bankruptcy status, the Los
Angeles-based company's auditors have indicated that they may not be
able to file the company's 10K in time for the company to meet the OTC
Bulletin Board’s current listing requirements, according to a
newswire report.  Failure to do so would cause the company's stock
to drop to the “pink sheets.”

According to company President Dan Rouse, the company is prepared to
file immediately upon receipt of the information from its auditors, but
its auditors have refused to give the company an absolute
guarantee.  The company has planned a special meeting of its board
of directors today to make a decision on the recommendation of its new
consultants that it do a reverse stock split of up to 100-to-1.

Benz Energy Files Bankruptcy Petition

Benz Energy Inc. yesterday announced that Benz and its wholly owned
subsidiary, Texstar Petroleum Inc., jointly filed a petition for
protection under federal bankruptcy law in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court,
Eastern District of Texas, according to a newswire report. The decision
to seek protection was taken because the company now believes that a
restructuring of its indebtedness cannot be completed without the
protection and assistance of the bankruptcy court.  The
Houston-based company anticipates filing a disclosure statement and
reorganization plan soon.  Benz Energy Inc. is an exploitation and
production oil and gas company focused on natural gas in the onshore
U.S. Gulf Coast region of Mississippi and Texas.

Judge OKs $18 Million in WWF Wrongful Death

A judge has approved an $18 million settlement in a wrongful death
lawsuit filed by the family of wrestler Owen Hart against the World
Wrestling Federation (WWF) and the city of Kansas City, according to the
Associated Press.  Circuit Judge Douglas Long Jr. approved
the settlement Tuesday after an hour-long hearing in the Jackson County,
Mo., Courthouse. WWF and its insurer will pay the settlement
amount.  Hart, known as the Blue Blazer, died May 23, 1999 during a
wrestling event on pay-per-view television.  He plunged 78 feet
when the quick-release mechanism on his harness prematurely opened as he
was being lowered into the ring.  The suit contended the stunt was
dangerous and poorly planned and that the harness system was
defective.

Long approved the settlement over the objection of the manufacturer
of Hart's trigger-latch shackle, Lewmar Inc., which argued that the
settlement could impair its ability to defend itself against the WWF's
claims for reimbursement.  The WWF wants Amspec Inc., which sold
the shackle to Hart's stunt rigger, to help pay the costs.  Amspec
filed chapter 7 in Van Nuys, Calif., on Monday and lists the WWF as a
contingent creditor.

Appeals Court Reinstates Shareholder Lawsuit Against Philip
Services

A federal appeals court has reinstated a shareholder lawsuit that
accuses Canadian industrial-services company Philip Services Corp. and
some of its officers, auditors and underwriters of widespread accounting
fraud, according to a newswire report.  The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit last week ruled that a lower court judge in
Manhattan erred in 1998 when he dismissed the case on the grounds that
it should be heard in Canadian courts.

The lawsuit was filed in 1997 on behalf of investors who purchased
Philip Services' common stock between Feb. 28, 1996 and Jan. 26,
1998.  The suit charged that the defendants, among other things,
'intentionally or recklessly disseminated materially false and
misleading financial statements and press releases respecting Philip's
financial results.' 

The Ontario-based Philip Services filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in June 1999.  The lawsuit has been stayed while Philip
Services remains in bankruptcy proceedings.  The case, however,
will proceed against numerous Philip Services officers including the
company's auditor, Deloitte & Touche, and a group of underwriters
that include Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter &
Co. and Donald Lufkin & Jenrette Inc.