LUCKY SAID TO AGREE TO SETTLE LOS ANGELES PRICING LAWSUIT

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

DUBLIN, Calif. -- Lucky Stores here has agreed to pay $145,608 to settle a lawsuit by the Los Angeles city attorney's office involving alleged discrepancies between the chain's posted prices and the prices rung up at checkout, city attorney spokesmen said last week.

Officials at Lucky, a division of American Stores Co., Salt Lake City, could not be reached for comment.

According to the city attorney, Lucky did not admit any wrongdoing in settling the suit, which stemmed from two separate investigations by the Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures over an 18-month period from late 1993 to mid-1995. The investigations allegedly found price discrepancies at 67 of the chain's 82 Los Angeles County stores. Lucky operates 247 stores in southern California.

Under the agreement, it was said, Lucky will pay $60,000 in civil fines; contribute $30,000 in cash-redeemable store scrip to two charities that feed the needy; and pay $17,000 to the California Consumer Protection Prosecution Trust Fund, $10,458 in investigative costs to the Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures, $25,000 in attorney fees and $3,150 to a statistician hired by the city.

It was also said that Lucky agreed to post in-store signs in English and Spanish for the next four years to inform customers that they will receive items for free if the shelf or advertised price differs from the price rung up at the scanner and to include a notice in its mailers for one year stating that policy.