Staples Ltd. and Staples Holdings Ltd.

The legal action was filed on Friday along with a separate writ against PJW Ltd and Staples Holding Ltd.

But yesterday a veil of silence was drawn over what the legal case was about.

A spokesperson for Staples Ltd. said they could not comment on the matter for legal reasons.

Staples Ltd. was the former principal operating subsidiary of Staples Holdings Ltd., before it was sold off in July to businessman Fernance Perry When the company, Staples Holdings Ltd, nearly crashed in May this year, some 290 holders of preferred shares in Staples Holdings Ltd. were told they would lose $5 million they invested in the company in 1995. The company endured a 19 percent drop in sales for the first half of its fiscal year to September 30, 1998 and declared a six-month loss of $336,019 before warning shareholders to expect further losses.

According to their last annual report Staples Holding Ltd. owed about $3.32 million in short- and long-term loans to the Bank of Bermuda and the Bank of N.T. Butterfield at September 30.

COURTS CTS