otices of the class-action antitrust lawsuit against credit card giants Visa and MasterCard began appearing in major publications the week of Sept. 8, 2002. The notices inform retailers they will be included in the class suit if they accepted Visa- or MasterCard-branded credit or debit cards at their locations at any time since Oct. 25, 1992. The notices will appear Sept. 12 through Oct. 14, 2002.

Notices are also being sent by mail to 7,657,888 merchants who are class members in the suit. An average of 760,000 notices were to be mailed daily between Sept. 9 and Sept. 19, 2002. Retailers who do not want to participate in the suit have until Nov. 14, 2002 to postmark a written request to be excluded.

The trial is scheduled to begin April 28, 2003 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York before Judge John Gleeson.