31.   Brad Sales, spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said the action had no merit.

32.   A fashionable tuxedo whose dinner jacket can do double duty on a festive but less-than-formal evening does have its merits.

33.   A federal investigation found the complaint had merit, and the Justice Department joined the suit.

34.   A hearing to determine whether the case has merit to proceed is scheduled for next week.

35.   A Royal Caribbean spokesman said the suit had no merit.

36.   A spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who has championed the project from the start, said the suit has no merit.

37.   A small group of frustrated investors filed the suit, Pohl says, and it has no merit.

38.   A studio executive who saw the completed movie described it as having little merit.

39.   ABC officials Wednesday said the story had no merit, since the Rose Bowl contract with the Big Ten champ was solid.

40.   Above all, Kennedy and Hatch have the merits of their case on their side, as well as public opinion.