DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997              TAG: 9704020487

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   61 lines

CHUCK NORRIS'S LAWSUIT REACHES SECRET ENDING

The strange legal case of Chuck Norris, the TV star who sued two local karate studios bearing his own name, came to a strange end Tuesday, leaving more questions than answers.

For five hours Tuesday, lawyers shuttled in and out of a judge's office as witnesses and jurors waited for the trial to start. Then the case was settled secretly.

Details are a mystery. Both sides were mum, including Norris, who was there for all the negotiations in U.S. District Court in downtown Norfolk.

Norris' lawyer said he will make a statement in about 10 days, after the legal papers are signed.

Norris emerged from Judge Rebecca B. Smith's chamber around 3 p.m., smiling and signing autographs, surrounded by lawyers. He said little, except to deny an accusation by the studio owners that the case was about his big ego.

``The first letter is right,'' Norris said. ``It's not because of ego. It's because of ethics.''

Then Norris slipped out a back door, avoiding cameramen at the front door.

Attorneys for the karate studios declined comment. ``We are in the process of settling the case. Because of that, the trial has been postponed,'' lawyer SuAnne L. Hardee said.

The case involved a claim of race discrimination and also a claim of breach of contract.

Norris, 57, was the world karate champ in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He now stars in movies and the hit TV show ``Walker, Texas Ranger.''

In 1974, Norris licensed his name and likeness to a Norfolk man who wanted to open a chain of karate studios. That man, William J. Marr, owner of the Yellow Cab Co., opened two Chuck Norris Karate Studios: one at Janaf in Norfolk, one at Hilltop in Virginia Beach. Instructors were handpicked by Norris. Among them was Norris' brother, Aaron.

``I was at the lowest point in my life,'' Norris recalled in a 1988 interview. ``I didn't know where the next nickel was coming from. Bill came in and saved me.''

Two years later, in 1976, Norris and Marr signed a 99-year licensing agreement. They envisioned a national chain of studios, but Marr never expanded beyond the original two.

Marr died in 1979. After that, Norris lost touch with the studios. They are now run by Cathy C. Smith and W. Harvey Laney.

Last year, Norris sued Smith, Laney and their companies. He said the karate studios discriminated against black customers and his name was tarnished by race discrimination lawsuits against the studios in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Those cases were settled out of court, with no admission of liability.

``Chuck Norris abhors racial discrimination and, indeed, has found that the black community specifically and minorities in general have been among some of his strongest supporters and fans,'' he said in a pre-trial order.

The studios denied Norris' accusations. Smith and Laney said they were victims of Norris' ego. They said the 1976 contract was good enough for Norris when he was younger, less famous and on the verge of bankruptcy, but not now that he was rich and famous.

``This case is about ego, E-G-O, ego,'' Smith said after a court hearing last month.

Norris sought a token $100 in damages and a court order to remove his name and likeness from the studios. The trial was expected to last about a week. KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT

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