THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994             TAG: 9411030485
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Daily Digest 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   25 lines

JUDGE APPROVES SUIT AGAINST BAUSCH & LOMB AS CLASS ACTION

Contact lens maker Bausch & Lomb Inc. faces a class-action lawsuit over charges that it wrongly sold the same product at widely varying prices. The suit, originally filed in May, alleges that the company falsely marketed its SeeQuence 2, Medalist and Optima brands as contact lenses to be worn for different lengths of time. But the lenses were all the same, although prices ranged from $30 to more than $350, the plaintiffs say. U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon approved the case as a class action, meaning that many consumers will have a chance to seek damages. Mike Williams, a plaintiffs' attorney in Portland, Ore., said as many as 4 million consumers could be involved and claims could total $8 million.(AP)

KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT CLASS ACTION SUIT CONTACT LENS by CNB